Dini Kathriarachchi, a girl who stands above all, as the Head Girl of Royal Institute, Nugegoda, is a role model any student can look up to. This is her phenomenal journey that commenced at Royal Institute paving the way to the world-renowned Princeton University in USA.
With all her brilliance, it came to nobody’s surprise that Princeton, the prestigious 6th ranking university in the world, has awarded her a 99% scholarship for Mechanical Engineering (class of 2027), the sphere which she has desired for long. This indeed, is an extremely rare opportunity given to only the best out of the best across the world, and Dini, one of Royal Institute International School’s extraordinarily brilliant products, stands out proud among those who have thrived their way to accomplish their educational goals and earned their prominence amidst the gleaming stars out in the skies.
Dini’s journey at RI is full of remarkable achievements: when a single A* is considered a great feat in Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE) levels, Dini showed her prowess scoring amazing 8A*s for all subjects at her Ordinary Levels. Further solidifying her potential, she then went on to score full marks for 4 subjects out of the 5 subjects she chose with 5 As at Pearson Edexcel International Advanced Subsidiary (AS) level.
Apart from academics, Dini has proven her brilliance on numerous occasions, including international competitions. She took part in the Singapore Global Math Finals in March 2022. The selection test was held online in 2021 in order to select the students who would move on to the global round. Dini was able to get through this and entered the final competition.
Dini is not new to winning awards in the international arena. She took part in the International Junior Math Olympiad (IJMO) held in 2020. It is an international mathematics competition that aims to identify and encourage young mathematicians. It is hosted by a different country each year, and the year that Dini competed in it, it was hosted by Singapore. IJMO 2020 was participated by students from 17 countries including China, Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore etc. Based on Dini’s performance in the Sri Lankan Mathematics Competition (SLMC) in 2019, in which she won a Gold Medal in her category, she was invited to compete in IJMO 2020. Due to the Covid-19 lockdown, both the competition and the award ceremony were held online. She succeeded in achieving a Bronze Medal in her category.
She also participated in the Young Environmentalists’ Challenge 2022. Dini and her team proceeded to be ranked 2nd island-wide, following the international rounds, representing her alma mater alongside other prestigious schools like Moiré and Bishop’s. Here she showcased her team spirit, self- confidence and the sharing of responsibilities, which she built up working as one of the elite senior prefects at school. During the testing times of Covid-19, she held and fought on with resilience and dedication to upkeep her duties as a prefect at RI so to maintain the legacy and prestige of her alma mater.
She is also a highly skilled chess player. Dini competed and won competitions island wide, bringing home medals of victory to symbolise her expertise in chess. She won the renowned Asian Youth Chess Championship, where she represented Sri Lanka in 2019. She also won the Young Environmentalist Challenge (YEC) logo design competition, and then proceeded to win the YEC itself under her team “Team Pink Nose Nation.” Most importantly, she designed the RI 50th anniversary logo which we adore with so much respect.
Dini sets a very good example to all the students as she excels in both academic and extra-curricular activities. As her teachers proudly proclaim, she is aware and understands how to strike a balance between both. Her journey towards Princeton is built upon her sheer dedication and proper guidance of her alma mater.
Dear Dini, we wish you the best in all your future endeavours!
Written by
Hirun Wijesinghe
Grade 10 D
RI Nugegoda