Vibha Swaminathan is a name that is on everyone’s lips today. And why not? The Bengaluru girl has surprised all by securing 100 per cent marks in the ISC exams, the results of which were declared on Tuesday. The all-India ISC topper is not less surprised herself, and says she is not being able to believe that she has scored cent per cent marks.

Vibha, who shares the top rank with Kolkata boy Dewang Kumar Agarwal (Science stream), pursued her ISC in Humanities with Mathematics from Mallya Aditi International School, Bengaluru.

The only hurdle that came between Vibha and her studies was the long duration that it took her to reach school and come back home. However, she feels tho one hour to go to school and two hours (due to traffic) to return home were de-stressing too.

Vibha used to study for a maximum of seven hours in a day.

Daughter of Swaminathan N R, who works in the IT sector, and Srividya G, a Montessori school teacher for 18 years, Vibha gives all credit to her parents, and also to her closest friends (all of them have score more than 99%) for the achievement.

“She used to enjoy her subjects and her teachers supported her a lot,” says Vibha’s proud mother.

“I want to recall the efforts which my school teachers made for me and thank them a lot,” Vibha tells Thestatesman.com over phone from  Bengaluru.

Vibha aspires to become a lawyer. She is a trained classical singer too, having learnt Carnatic music for ten years. Singing is her hobby. Till Class XI, Vibha was engaged in Model United Nations. In Class XII, she used to take part in inter-school English debates.

“I want to empower myself first and then, help others,” says Vibha. An avid dog lover, she is associated with a dog shelter and has been rescuing dogs since 2016.

Vibha took her Class X examinations from CBSE as a student of National Public School. She had scored 10 CGPA (again cent per cent) then.

So, what is her message to youngsters? “Study to gain knowledge and enjoy it, rather for scoring marks. Whatever you like, dedicate your time and efforts to that. Enjoy the process of learning,” she says.

Another student who has scored cent per cent marks is Dewang Kumar Agarwal from La Martiniere for Boys, Kolkata.