Dr. Buddhima Subasinghe Overcame hurdles at a young age; Now she celebrates being ‘A Phenomenal Woman’

“If you want to be successful in this world, you should follow your passion. You need to be focused and do what you love and love what you do. However, in this roller coaster ride of life, we sometimes become confused, worried and messed up and that’s when you need to seek help from your Role Model,” says Dr. Subasinghe as she shared her incredible journey and life lessons with Lanka Woman. 
Looking up to Professor Stephen Hawkings, she has achieved a lot at a very young age. Her greatest achievement, she says, was being the youngest PhD holder of South Asia and being able to live the purpose of her life, which is to inspire and empower. Read excerpts of the exclusive interview below..

Dr. Buddhima, you are a true inspiration. Tell us about your journey as a kid.

Life is an enthralling adventure. It is a beautiful journey indeed. I went to school when I was a 3-year-old kid and it was since then that this amazing journey began at Willesden College International which was my first school and later, I was educated at the Gateway College of Colombo too. Due to my exceptional academic achievements as a kid in my first school I was entitled for a double promotion in a primary grade and I ended up as the youngest kid in the class. 

At primary grades I went through a lot of bullying at school which also made me perform average in my academics and tough times made me realize that I need to come out of my shell, fight both my inner and outer bullies, and be confident to believe in myself. So, I wanted to prove that I can stand up for myself and take control of my life by using education as the only weapon to change my world. I would say that self-motivation was a major strength I had to help me conquer life. 

Then you went on to pursue your higher studies. What was your university life like?  

As a 16-year-old, opened a new chapter in my life as I entered University, I first joined the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) and I was the youngest in the batch of 1800 undergraduates. It was an exciting adventure learning new things with new responsibilities & an array of leadership opportunities; however, when each opportunity was given to me being the youngest, I never hesitated to take them up or never complained, but I would grab them all as a challenge and work hard as I always believed that opportunities won’t come twice.During this period my media career as a presenter & a producer of a decade begins with the Buddhist Channel & Sri Lanka Rupavahini Cooperation too. 

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