Perlis: The passing of her father during an examination period did not break Teerti Ganapathi Rao's spirit. The 22-year-old Diploma in Digital Technology student from the Department of Information and Communication Technology (JTMK), Politeknik Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin (PTSS), persevered to achieve academic excellence.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Teerti was awarded the Director-General's Award and the Academic and Co-Curricular Excellence Award during the first session of the 2026 Northern Zone Polytechnic and Community College Convocation Ceremony today. The graduate, who achieved a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 3.61, said the accomplishment was especially meaningful as she had endured a challenging time when her father passed away while she was sitting for her Semester Two examinations in 2023.
'I thought I would not be fortunate enough to receive this award, so when I was informed that I had been selected, I was truly surprised and grateful,' she told reporters after the convocation session at Dewan Harumanis, PTSS here today. The Raja of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail, graced the convocation ceremony, which runs from today until Aug 9, involving 6,104 graduates from polytechnics and community colleges in Perlis, Kedah and Penang.
Teerti, the youngest of four siblings, said the encouragement and advice from her late father were her source of strength to continue her studies. 'I once found it difficult to continue my studies as I had intended to pursue a foundation programme. However, my father always encouraged me to complete my diploma, and it was that advice I held on to until I graduated,' she said.
During her three years at PTSS, Teerti received the Head of Department's Award for Semesters One, Three and Four, and was actively involved as a member of the Student Representative Council (MPP), which helped shape her leadership, communication, and teamwork skills. She also represented PTSS in a collaborative programme and seminar paper presentation at Universiti Putra Indonesia, and developed the Koop Printing System as her final-year project, a system designed to improve the efficiency of cooperative printing service management.
The Perlis-born graduate is also multilingual, as she is proficient in Mandarin, Tamil, and Telugu, besides Bahasa Melayu and English, and has a basic understanding of French, Japanese, and Korean. Teerti said she is currently awaiting the results of her application to pursue a Bachelor's degree in Information Technology (IT), with Universiti Malaya as her first choice, and hopes to further her studies up to the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) level.
'I have been interested in IT since the age of 16 after being introduced to computers and coding by friends I met through video games. The field is indeed challenging, but if you learn step by step and truly understand the concept, everything becomes easier,' she said.