For Shubhada Rohit Kawale, the idea of service is not a proverb but a practice. Years after retiring as a chemistry professor, she still opens her notebook every day in Sangamner, not for personal pursuits, but for students who cannot afford expensive coaching and quietly fear the Maharashtra State Board examinations.

During her nearly 30-year teaching career at Dr DA Ohra College, Sangamner, Kawale noticed a troubling pattern every exam season. Capable students faltered, not due to lack of knowledge, but because they lacked guidance, emotional support, and financial means. Many rural students, she realised, accepted failure as inevitable simply because personal mentoring, counselling, and coaching were beyond their reach. That realisation stayed with her long after retirement.