Shahapur: Sujata Ramchandra Madke, a resident of Shirgaon village in Shahapur taluka, has become the first woman from Thane district to join the prestigious Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as a scientist.

Sujata’s journey is remarkable as she voluntarily resigned from her stable government job as an assistant motor vehicle inspector in Thane RTO to pursue her dream of being a part and contributing to India’s space mission.

“Dr APJ Abdul Kalam’s words inspired me to dream big. It wasn’t easy to leave a secure job, but I had to follow my passion,” Sujata told Newsband.

Raised in a modest family in Shirgaon, 15 km from Shahapur, Sujata was born into a family of modest means. Her father Ramchandra Madke, retired from the ZP and farms his land. Mother Savita is a homemaker. Despite their limited financial circumstances, the Madke’s ensured that all their four children received quality education.

Sujata had her basic education from a zilla parishad (ZP) school where she excelled in academics, scoring 94.91 per cent in SSC and 77.50 per cent in HSC. She completed her B Tech in mechanical engineering from Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University, Lonere, and later worked at a virtual lab project at IIT Kharagpur.

She cleared the MPSC exam and joined the RTO department, but never gave up her childhood dream of becoming a scientist. Even while working full-time, she burnt the midnight oil to prepare for the competitive ISRO recruitment. Her family still keeps the two bags of books she used during this period as a testament to her efforts.

It would be stating the obvious that Ramchandra and Savita are ecstatic at Sujata’s achievement. “She has set a role model for every girl in rural India,” said her sister Chetna.

Sujata’s journey is a beacon of hope and inspiration for aspiring scientists from rural Maharashtra.