Always listen to your heart while choosing a career.

This was the message from Ekta Bharti, the 17-year-old who made the state proud by securing all India category rank 1 in the entrance examination of National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT). Bharti ensured the ninth place in the top 10 common merit ranking in the entrance.

Bharti, who secured the rank 1 under the Other Backward Classes category, cleared the entrance in her first attempt.

“As far as your career is concerned, always listen to your heart. This is what I have done to achieve this,” Bharti said.

Bharti added that her parents wanted her to opt for engineering and initially she, too, wanted to pursue medicine. Her teachers, too, felt that she should try for either engineering or medicine because she was good in studies. However, Bharti finally decided to chose a designing course keeping her creative skills in mind. She won the support of teachers and parents as well. A Class XII student (science) of St Joseph’s Convent High School, Bharti, has taken her board examination this year. She cleared the first round of the competitive examination at TPS College on February 10 and the final round at the NIFT, Patna, on April 20.

On the other hand, Nidhi Agrawal of St Joseph’s Convent High School, secured the all India rank 5 in the OBC category. Her overall ranking was 41.

“Getting through NIFT was my childhood dream. I could not appear for its entrance last year because my mother was unwell. I am on cloud nine because it was also my mother’s dream to achieve something of this stature,” said the 19-year-old. Nidhi took her Class X examination from Infant Jesus High School, Patna City, and Class XII from St Joseph’s (commerce) in 2012.

Both Bharti and Agrawal have opted for NIFT, Delhi.