Lieutenant Preeti at her Canary Road residence. Picture by Vishvendu Jaipuriar

Hazaribagh, April 26: For Prerna Preeti, it is a dream come true.

The 22-year-old is one of the few women in the state to become an officer in the armed forces. The resident of Canary Hill Road joined the 1 Armed (division ordinance unit) in Patiala as a lieutenant on April 9.

Preeti was in town to take the blessings of her parents in Hazaribagh after joining the unit in Patiala.

Speaking to The Telegraph from her residence this morning, Preeti said that there could be more women in the armed forces if they received proper support.

Dressed in full uniform, Preeti said that she is from a family involved in business, but that never stopped her from doing what she had always wanted to do since she was in school ? joining the army and serving the nation. ?My parents and teachers gave me all the encouragement that I needed,? she smiled the gutsy woman.

Preeti appeared for the Women?s Special Entrance Scheme last year.

?A total of 68 girls were selected under the scheme including myself,? she said. The petite officer was called in for an interview last June, after which she went for training at the Officer Training Academy in Chennai. It was an intensive six-month course, where she grasped short and long range firing.

The girl from Hazaribagh has been selected for the short service commission, which lasts for five years. After that, she can sit for an exam to be selected for a permanent commission or opt out.

Her success story has given students and teachers of DAV Public School, Hazaribagh, from where she had completed her schooling from, a reason to celebrate.

The officer, who scored 74 per cent in her Class X exams from DAV, Hazaribagh, in 1999, and 71 per cent in her Plus Two in 2001, also has a sporty side.

In between studies, she found time to play basketball. In fact, the DAV basketball team had won the zonal tournament four years in a row when she was a member.

Preeti also represented the school at national levels in Bihar, Orissa and Calcutta.

Armed with a good academic record, Preeti went on to study zoology at St Columba?s College, Hazaribagh But her childhood dreams of joining the army remained. ?I?ve always imagined myself in the uniform,? she said.

Now, those dreams have come true. ?I owe it to my parents and colonelji, my sports teacher at DAV,? she said.

Preeti hoped that her success would inspire other girls in the state to keep on working towards their goals.