Sapna Sharma with her father Naresh Sharma.
Nikhila Pant Dhawan
Tribune News Service
Bathinda, March 7
It is not uncommon to see children explaining the meaning of their names to others, but what may be out of the ordinary is to see children living up to what the name stands for. Sapna Sharma did exactly that and turned her ‘sapna’ (dream) into reality.A resident of Mansa and former B Tech (computer science and engineering) student of 2010 batch of Giani Zail Singh Campus College of Engineering and Technology, she got selected by the Indian Air Force.She cleared AFCAT-2013 conducted in January 2013 and subsequently, got through the SSB held at Dehradun.She got selected in the 58 SSC (W) Course for the grant of Short Service Commission in the AE (L) branch of the Indian Air Force.She then underwent six-month training, initially at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal, Hyderabad, and later for a year in Bangalore.Sapna had been on roll of the NCC as a cadet from 2011 to 2014.She brought laurels to the state, alma mater and her family when for the first time in the history of the Air Force Technical College (AFTC), the graduation parade of the aeronautical engineering course was commanded by a woman officer, none other than Flying Officer Sapna Sharma.In all, 118 officers, including 45 women officers, were inducted into the Air Force following the ceremony.“The credit for all that I have achieved goes to my parents. We are five sisters but our parents never made us feel that we didn’t have a brother. They supported us in all our endeavours and gave us freedom to chase our dreams,” Sapna said.Born to cloth trader Naresh Sharma and mother Veena Sharma, Sapna scaled academic as well as professional heights.“Our daughter has done what sons of others have not been able to do. We are now known as Sapna’s parents and we are proud of that,” said her mother.“I was present at the graduation parade of the AFTC. It was a moment of pride for me to see my daughter break the record and become the first female officer to command the parade,” her father said.