Archive for October, 2009

Hi!

For those who don’t know me, I’m George K. John from the batch of 2003. Iv just been selected as one among the five Rhodes scholars from India for the year 2010.It’s a great feeling to be among illustrious company, being the sixth Rhodes scholar from St.Johns. This win is especially special because I’m the second person from the batch of 2003 after Rakesh Sharma to become a Rhodes scholar, a definite record of sorts.

The elaborate process of applying began in July with me running around getting references and testimonials. After that I sat down to write the thousand word essay which forms the heart of the application. I heard back from the Rhodes trust in the end of August saying I’d been short listed for the regional interviews. The total number of applicants vary each year and range from 400 to 600 of which approximately 200 are selected for the regional interviews held in Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi and Kolkata.I was informed of my selection to the final interview during the end of September.

The final interview for the Rhodes Scholarship was held in Mumbai on the 11th and 12th of October. It has been a tradition of the Rhodes scholarships to have a dinner on the previous night of the interview for the candidates to meet the panel. The panel for this year was under the chairmanship of Mr.Ratan Tata and included Congress leader and parliamentarian Rahul Gandhi. Others on the panel included Mr. Nandan Kamath, Mr. Sanjeev Sanyal, Ms. Rakhi Mehra, Professor Vir Chauhan (the secretary of the Rhodes trust in India) and others.

The interview was a great experience and lasted for about 20 minutes. It was a real honour to be able to interact with people of the stature of Ratan Tata, Rahul Gandhi and the other Rhodes Scholars on the panel, all pioneers in their respective fields.

And after waiting for the longest time the results were finally announced. The Scholars for 2010 would be Baskar Bhusan who is currently doing an MSc in Chemistry from IIT Kanpur and will study a Phd in Chemistry at Oxford; Tanya Bhattaracharya who is currently in her final year of a BA in History from University of Delhi St Stephens College and will pursue a second BA in History, V Niranjan of NLSIU, Aditya Swarup of NALSAR and me.

I intend to pursue a masters in Global Health at the University of Oxford and to specialize in medical oncology later. Preventive oncology, especially screening and early diagnosis and treatment of the most prevalent cancers is what I am most interested in. I aim to come back to India after my studies and set up a community-based cancer screening and treatment program in the near future.

Although academic excellence forms the foundation to become a Rhodes Scholar, I think that should not become a hindrance to do what you really like and enjoy doing. The aim at least in undergraduate days at St.John’s should be to utilize the wonderful opportunity which is provided to us to develop as well rounded individuals.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my parents, my brother, my teachers at St.John’s and my dear friends all of whom have played a key role in moulding me as a person. I would like to express my special gratitude to the Mad Med Men, our team, and finally to God almighty without whose blessings none of this would have been possible.

I do hope that more Johnites will join the list of Rhodes scholars in the years to come. I look forward to my time at Oxford next year and hope that it will be an enriching experience.

Regards,

George K. John
Batch of 2003
St.Johns Medical College
Rhodes Scholar – elect, Class of 2010.

The RGUHS University Hockey Team is announced for the coming season. Ten Johnites successfully managed to squeeze themselves into the 16 member university squad. Training Camp will begin from tomorrow for the selected players  in St. Johns Hockey Ground.

The players selected are:- Vinod Paul (2005), Rahul (2006), Ashoka(2006), Ashit(2004), Jose MD(2005), Babush Jose(2007), Ankit Singh(2007), Andrew (2007), Maridas Tom (2007) and Davis John(2007)

The selection news was much welcomed by the college hockey team and the fans. The College team was on high spirits after a successful tour to JIPMER, Pondichery last week.  Hope this news will boost the confidence of the team and help them  rejuvenate the hockey spirit in St. Johns.

Congrats and All the BEST from Johnknight.in team!

Ohhhahh !!! Hurray !!! Late night yesterday when my friend called me up and told about the new Rhodes Scholars List thats how I reacted… I guess !!

Must say SUPERB!!! Another Rhodes Scholar…. that too in consecutive years from the same MBBS BATCH !!!

For all those who are not yet aware about the great news……

DR. GEORGE K JOHN,(MBBS 2003) is selected for the prestigious Scholarship this year.

Remember, St. Johns Medical College has the distinction of producing the highest number of Rhodes Scholars in the country.

PLEASE LEAVE YOUR WISHES/MESSAGES TO DR.GEORGE by commenting this article !

2005 MBBS BATCH

The farewell to the UG batch of 2005 and the PG batch of 2007 was held in the auditorium and the amphitheathre on october 2nd( a dry day!!!!) by the batch of 2007. The venue which was shifted at the last minute from the lawns(due to the unhappiness of the rain gods) was apt for the roman theme. a larger than life portrait of Caesar (all credit to Anush, 2007) along with pillars and roman chariots played their part. kudos to the junior most batch of 2009 for dressing up in togas that lent the ambience a truly roman flavour.though the director fr.lawrence d’souza could not be there due to prior engagement, in his letter , he wished the 2005 batch and the pgs all the best for their future and to keep the flag of their alma mater flying high and live upto the motto of st.johns.
After the arrival of the dignitaries( Rev. Fr.Glen [Assoc. Director -FIN], Rev. Fr.Matthew [Assoc. Director - College] , Dr.Prem pais [Dean] , Dr.Sandhya [Vice-Dean], Dr.Kilpadi[HOD, Surgery] and Dr.L.N.Mohan who was the chief guest) ,Mr. Jino Joy [MBBS 2007, President Farewell Comm-09] delivered the welcome speech. This was followed

Magazine Release

by speech from the dignitaries. The MCs for the evening Ryan and Swathi (from batch of 07)then called on Alex and Romina from the Batch of 2005 to take part in release of their batch magazine.
The next event was 4 liners which was announced by Priyanka mathias and yours truly( i.e. nitin). usually though its boring, it was livened up this year due to the nature of the 4 liners themselves which were humourous and also background music for each person which was selected by the mad med men of 07 batch. I have to digress here and thank each and every person like Abey, Gopal, Murtuza, Jarin, Denzil, Md, Basanth , Mp, and everyone who helped me with the 4 liners. though it was tiring, it was really enjoyable and fun to gather information and insults!!! and humorous incidents of the 2005 batch.
This was followed by the distribution of mementoes nd the 4 liners for the post graduates. this was coordinated by Dr.sharon and Dr. jessy.

Mad Med Men Jnrs

it was time for the most awaited event of the evening: mad ads on the batch of 2005. it was done by the MAD MED MEN from the 2007 batch. the plot revolved around the storyline of JOHNITANIC wherein on a sinking ship, the fight for a girl(?????) between TWAYYYNE and JUDI take place amidst various characters from the 2005 batch including a dead man make their appearance. the climax of the revealation of who the girl(????) was left everyone in splits.
This was followed by a dance from the batch of 2007 which had won first place in ICC on special request by the batch of 2005. As always , the juniormost batch 2009 put up a performance in the form of a theme dance which showed that they have a lot of potential.

2009 Dance Team

As the stomachs started rumbling, it was time to move to the food court where a toast was raised for the graduating students. a sumptuous dinner awaited everyone in the amphi theatre and to liven up the environment there was music also. a band featuring embers from batch of 2002-2007 rocked the stage. But the highlight had to be the band perfromance by the 2005 batch . People rushed from food court at this point of time to listen to 2005 belt out their popular numbers like Mitwa, Yeh mera dil, etc. in the end a photo slide show depicting tsome of the memorable moments of 2005 batch along with a song specially written for the occassion drew cheers from the crowd and sent some into nostalgia.

There was just enough time to squeeze in a 30 min dance party( the official word for disc) . DJ Valz from 07 played out popular numbers and though there were shouts of more, the conking of the instrument and the permission for

deadline meant that a memorable evening had to come to an end.
All’s well that ends well. This was a farewell to a batch who have imprinted themselves and their deeds in everyones heart and have set lofty standards that are quite difficult to scale. Heres wishing them all the very best.
p.s: i apologise for any spelling/grammatical or factual error as this was typed during a hypoglycemic state. editing will be done shortly.