Tura, Jan 18: Sheer determination, hard work and casting aside social life to focus on the goals ahead will always bring in a success story, strongly believes this year’s Meghalaya Civil Services topper- Miss Chingba Jimbe Ch Marak.
In an interview with The Meghalayan Express on Friday, hours after the results of the Meghalaya Civil Services were declared, Miss Chingba Jimbe Ch Marak told this scribe about the importance of having perseverance when taking on any task or a challenge.
“The one core point I strongly believe that helped steer me through my studies and exams was perseverance. I kept away from social life and confined myself to my home and books. One cannot be distracted while preparing for a career,” says Chingba Jimbe Ch Marak- Meghalaya’s top rank holder in the MCS exams.
Chingba Jimbe had only recently cleared the LDA exams and joined work in the state Secretariat in Shillong before she was called for the mains and the personal interview for the state civil services (MCS).
Hailing from the village of Dura Banda Chambugong village under Chokpot Civil Sub-Division in South Garo Hills, Chingba Jimbe is the youngest among five siblings. Her parents, dad Semrongsing A Sangma and mom Joshilline Ch Marak, are both school teachers.
The MCS exam she successfully cracked was not the first major challenge she has encountered. She cleared the all India UPSC Prelims in 2022 but narrowly missed out clearing the Mains by a mere 37 marks.
“I began preparing for civil services way back in 2018 and appeared in the UPSC civil services as many as six times,” says Chingba Jimbe stressing on the importance of facing tests and exams to sharpen one’s mind and overcome any difficulty or challenges, particularly when facing the interview board.
“These exams (MCS) were manageable, it wasn’t hard. I prepared not only to clear the exams but to try and ensure I secured a berth among the top five,” says the state’s topper.
During the interview she was asked how she would deal in an environment of hostility between warring factions and responded that stabilizing the situation and maintaining the rule of law is always primary, followed by reaching out to the aggrieved groups and individuals through dialogue to settle the issue amicably.
Her coaching classes and experience as a teacher evidently helped solidify her position as the top rank holder of the state.
“I underwent coaching in New Delhi and also worked as a teacher at the Riverside Academy Adventist School in Bajengdoba for some years,” mentions Chingba Jimbe Ch Marak.
For someone who started her school life at St Stephen Memorial School in Matchakolgre, Tura, Aeroville Secondary School (Classes 8-10), a top 15 in the Class X Matric SSLC state list in 2013, Higher Secondary at Roorkee in Uttarakhand, and her bachelors degree from Sharda University in Noida, Chingba Jimbe Ch Marak has come a long way and her persistence and determination has paid off.
