When the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), USA, confirmed 22-year-old Aishwarya Shivalkar’s admission to the institute last year, the latter was more worried than excited. While she was halfway through fulfilling her dream, the road ahead looked difficult. The course fee was Rs 30 lakh. “After I lost my father in 2016, my mother single-handedly took up the responsibility of raising my younger brother, who is currently pursuing a degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Sir JJ School of Art, and me,” says Mumbai-based Shivalkar. She was still pursuing her design degree from the United World Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, when she lost her father.

With her high scores in the first year, the institute offered her a scholarship, which reduced the fee, ensuring that she could complete the degree successfully. She has also taken up a job with Curious Canvas, an interior designing firm in Dadar, to help her mother, who works with a school and is a part-time accounts manager at a firm. “But, this is not the life I chose. My interest lies in architecture and furniture design, a skill that is not going to get the recognition here that it will in the US. I knew this path would not be easy, but I am a lot like my mother, challenging the challenges in life.”