Ameesha Nishad, a student from Swami Atmanand Excellent English Medium Schools Jamgaon R, didn't wake up one morning and decide to become a scientist. She just kept working, kept asking questions, and kept showing up.

And then ISRO called.

Only 13 from Chhattisgarh. She was one of them.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) runs this prestigious program called Yuvaika 2026-27 – a residential training camp for young scientists. Applications poured in from across the country. Selection was brutal.

From all of Chhattisgarh, only 13 students made the cut.

And from Durg district? Just one.

Ameesha Nishad, daughter of Umesh Kumar Nishad, from village Belhari in Patan block.

She didn't just represent her school. She carried her village, her block, her entire district on her shoulders.

10 Days at Sriharikota. With Real Scientists.

For ten days, Ameesha lived and breathed space science at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. This is the same place where India launches its rockets. Think about that.

She didn't just watch from a distance. She worked alongside ISRO scientists. Got her hands dirty with real projects and practicals. Understood how things actually work outside the textbook.

And here's the part that gave me goosebumps – she got to interact with Gaganyaan astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla. Yes, the same Shubhanshu Shukla who's training to go to space. She asked him questions. He answered. That's not something you forget.

She returned on May 25th. But she didn't come back empty-handed. She came back with notebooks full of ideas and a head full of dreams.

Collector and DEO Welcomed Her Personally

Back home, Durg Collector Abhijeet Singh and District Education Officer Arvind Mishra didn't just send a message or make a phone call.

They invited her. Gave her a memento. Handed her a certificate. And sat down to hear her story.

District Project Coordinator Rishminath was there. The school's principal Kavita Sahu. And her guide teacher – Vinita Sudhir – the one who stayed back after school, answered the tough questions, and never let Ameesha feel like "small town" meant "small goals."

Everyone praised Vinita ma'am's guidance. And rightly so. Behind every Ameesha is a teacher who refused to give up.

What ISRO Gave Her (Beyond the Certificate)

ISRO didn't just train these kids and send them off. They gave them useful academic materials – the kind of stuff that helps you think bigger, aim higher, and not get lost in the crowd.

Ameesha said it herself – she got to understand real projects, real practicals, real science. Not just mugging up definitions.

And now? She's back. With a fire that's not going out anytime soon.

The Takeaway

You don't have to be from Mumbai or Bangalore to reach ISRO. You just have to be curious, stubborn, and lucky enough to have a teacher who believes in you.

Ameesha Nishad proved that.

From a village called Belhari in Patan block to the rocket launchpad at Sriharikota – that's not a small journey. That's the kind of journey that makes other kids in small towns sit up and say, "If she can do it, why can't I?"

And that's the whole point.