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M.K.A Anoma Rathnayaka-1st Batch
Sri Lanka
Senior Lecturer, Department of Sport Science and Physical Education
University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka |
” I never dreamed about success, I worked for it” – Estée Lauder
-To begin with this article, I firmly believe that even an ordinary person can achieve his/her dreams if they have the will and dedication. Not every opportunity can happen within one night, there will be certain barriers to face and some may even demotivate you and hence, give up in achieving what you truly want. Being an ordinary girl myself, I always dreamed of becoming a Lecturer at the university I graduated from; University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.
Ever since 2008, all I could think of was how could a person like me achieve such a high post. After my graduation, I believed that I had the qualifications to become a Lecturer, however, I was turned down by my University, some people thought that I had no luck and I should try again later. Most people may think that this was the end of my journey but not everyone knew that I considered this to be a challenge and prove others wrong. After this incident, I wanted to get a Master Degree in Sports Management. Unfortunately, Sri Lanka does not offer this degree (something that I am currently working on to make it possible for a degree as such to exist in my country), therefore, I had to look somewhere else which could offer me this degree. Research after research, I found out that the fees were too high for me to pay, this made me visit Dubai in search of a job and earn enough to independently cover up my tuition fees.
Days after days, months after months and years after years, I finally took tiny steps on the staircase to my success, the first was to check the best universities which provides Master Degree in Sports Management, I came across two; a university in Russia and South Korea to my luck, both the universities provide full scholarships. The hardest part was to pick which university to go to as I was highly interested in both the universities. After doing a research on both the countries, I found that South Korea was much more convenient for me; it ranks Asia number 7 for sport studies and South Korea number 1 DTM programme in terms of best professors present, universities are well reputed, the South Korean atmosphere is suitable for a person like me, nonetheless, I was truly inspired by Dream Together Mission’s vision – “Dream, The power it gives to overcome difficulties in life. Together, with people who believe in the power of sports and for the countries that have yet to maximize the full potential of sport in changing life and society.
Master, to foster future leaders in the field of sport management contributing to peace and development through sports”. It was that vision of theirs which inspired me to aim higher and achieve more and more in life, even at present, whenever a person tries to put me down, I think of that vision and pull myself up together. To be quite frank, I am nothing but proud of myself that I achieved so much at such a young age. The values of these achievements are beyond infinity. But I wouldn’t have achieved any of the things I have right now if it wasn’t for South Korea’s DTM program.
I will forever be thankful for them because they’re the reason why I’m in this position in life right now. I believe that as a citizen I have made my country proud as well. Knowing my success story, everyone respected South Korea’s DTM program because of their value, hence, foreign countries requested me to be a part of conference events (Global Sports on Physical Education and Sports Sciences in India 2018) as a conference lead speaker which is organized by University College at of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Acharya Nagarjuna University in collaboration with National Association of Physical Education and Sport Sciences on 11th,12th and 13th October in order to motivate and inspire their people. Being given the chance to act as a conference lead speaker was a proud moment but also being the first woman conference speaker in Sri Lanka in the field of sports management was another thing to be proud as well.
As a first batch student myself, I would like to advice the future generation that no matter how many difficulties you may face, never give up. Always follow this saying “Where there’s a will, there’s a way” and another advice ANYONE is to never put anyone else down just because of your achievements rather treat everyone equally they way you would want to be treated by others.
Last but not least, I would like to thank University of Kelaniya as they are known to have respect for the qualifications a person has rather than judging them based on their status, and a very special thanks to South Korea’s DTM degree because if it wasn’t for them I would never get the chance to be where I am right now. This may be seem like the end of my journey, however, I have yet more to achieve and a lot more to go through.
