Students of St. Xavier’s Group of schools joined the nation in celebrating the Indian Air Force Day (observed on Oct. 8) by paying their tribute to the heroes of the Indian Air Force and enriching their awareness about the Indian Air Force through an interactive session with Air Force veteran Ravindra Shukla. After a thirty-year stint in AIF Mr. Shukla, is now actively involved in the Air Wing of NCC and Inter-Service Sports Championships.

The session attended by the students of 20 schools of St. Xavier’s Group of Schools got off with a prayer to the almighty God led by Vanshika Chavan, Amruta Malave and Harsh Shenoy and was followed by welcome speech and a question and answer session. In this online interactive session students recalled the sacrifice of the Indian Air Force in the 1965 and 1971 wars, the stellar contribution of IAF for our national security and fielded questions on life and career opportunities in AIF. Students were thrilled to know the exciting as well as the challenging life of AIF personnel. Students interested to pursue their careers in IAF asked Mr. Shukla for different routes of induction to IAF. Students, particularly the girls wishing to reach the sky noted with excitement that they can become Flying Officers in Indian Air Force (IAF) through Air Force Common Admission Test (AFCAT), UPSC NDA, NCC & UPSC CDS.

Aligning with the vision of providing value-based education for the holistic development of the students and making education relevant to the needs and aspiration of the students as envisioned by the Chairman of St. Xavier’s Group of Schools Dr. A. F. Pinto and Managing Director Madam Dr. Grace Pinto, interactive sessions are held every month for the students of St. Xavier’s Group of Schools by inviting professionals from different walks of life.

The session was attended by the students of the following schools:

.St Xavier’s High School, Andheri/Goregaon/ Borivli/ Virar/ Naigaon/ Kashigaon/Shanti Park/Airoli
•Fr Agnelo High School, Malad
•St Lawrence High School, Kandivli/Borivli/Vashi
•St Aloysius High School and Junior college, Nallasopara
•St Francis High School, Bhayandar/Vasai
•St Mary’s High School, Mira/Dahisar
•St Joseph’s High School, Kalamboli/ New Panvel
•St Thomas High School, Dahisar
The following 22 students of the participating schools asked a wide range of questions to the Indian Air Force veteran Mr. Ravindra Shukla during the interactive session.
St Xavier's Andheri - Fiona Bacha
Fr Agnelo Malad - Yogiraj Raikar
St Mary's Mira- Shivam Bhist
St Mary's. Dahisar - Rutvi Amish
St Lawrence Borivli- Jeni Kanani
St Lawrence Borivli- Ashutosh Diwarkar.
St Lawrence Borivli -Nandini Patel
St Lawrence Kandivli - Sudarshan Jha
St Thomas - Dhruvika Belwal
St Xavier's Virar - Nidhi Saini
St Xavier's Virar - Muskan Parmar
St Xavier's Virar - Aditi Mishra
St Francis Vasai - Ikjyot Kaur
St Aloysius Nallasopara- Omkar Tarde
St Aloysius Nallasopara- Ashutosh Jha
St Xavier's Naigaon- Vineet Vishwakarma
St Xavier's Kashigaon - Anamika Mishra
St Lawrence Vashi - Shivam Sankpal
St Joseph's Panvel - Anand Kulkarni
St Joseph's Kalamboli - Madhura Anuse
St Joseph's Kalamboli - Anushree Nair
St Joseph's Kalamboli - Rashi Shrivastava