A virtual ceremony for majority of gold medallists at RGUHS

A virtual ceremony for majority of gold medallists at RGUHS

26/06/2020

(Top) Gold medallists Shreejaya T.K., Pooja R. Hittalamani, and Gauthami K. at the RGUHS convocation in Bengaluru on Thursday. (Above) Gold medallists Chindu B.S. and Rashmita R. who could not attend the ceremony.Sudhakara Jain

Rashmita R. was looking forward to walking on stage on Thursday to collect the six gold medals she has been awarded in Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS), the highest number of gold medals in BDS at RGUHS. But the pandemic has cheated her and others out of a traditional convocation ceremony.

As she was in Mangaluru, she could not attend the convocation. “Due to COVID-19 restrictions, I could not attend the convocation. It would have been a momentous occasion to receive the medals in front of a huge audience and more importantly, my parents,” she said.

Many toppers who could not attend their convocation in person logged in for the virtual ceremony.

Shruti P.M., who bagged a gold medal and cash prize in M.D. Radio Diagnosis, and is now a resident at KIMS, Hubballi, said: “It would have been a joyous moment with family and friends.”

She also added that she was occasionally indirectly working on treating COVID-19 patients with UV and CT scans.

Arpit Shantagiri from Belagavi also gave the convocation a miss. “I had received the highest number of gold medals at Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute convocation ceremony in February. I was looking forward to the university level convocation,” he said.

Pooja Hittalamani, who won four gold medals in MBBS, attended the convocation in person. “The convocation was well arranged with all safety measures. It would have been great if it was like before,” she said.