"I believe in the concept of being an all rounder" declared Vindya Cooray, the top ranker of the ICASL Final I exams held in October 2008. Vindya, being an undergraduate at the Faculty of Management & Finance at University of Colombo also arise to be ranked as Batch Top in her degree program last year and had clearly found it a smooth sail to have achieved her peak in education while balancing all her co- curricular activities.

As a former Head Prefect of St. Lawrence Convent, Vindya has proven her talents in multi tasking from her school days where she has been the Captain of the college Chess team and also an active member in the Debating team & many other societies. "My intention was never set on winning prizes, I simply put my fullest effort and always tried to do my best" expressed Vindya. She further says that to balance all other activities along with studies, focusing in class and making time to be in touch with studies had served her well always and has been the key behind her achievements. Vindya can be graded as a highly remarkable student, giving equal attention to & gaining high results from all the very many activities she focuses on. Giving priority to all tasks according to their importance and attending to them with efficiency while managing her time is the important feature behind her skills of successful multi- tasking.

Vindya identifies ICASL as a very well established institute which offers its students with many tools to harness their carrier while studying for the course. "I think ICASL gives an opportunity for every one to discover their potential in the dignified profession & the qualification offered by them is very much valued all over the world. The practical knowledge and the improvement of soft skills we gain from the course activities are unique from all other qualifications" said Vindya as she prided herself for being a part of the ICASL.

Many share a perception that the final level examinations requires extra painstaking efforts, yet Vindya playing an active role in all university activities, being a teacher for A/L students at her college and also a lecturer at another private institute, was able to leap through the hurdle of such outlooks and achieve the high point at the very exam which was wrongly regarded as tough. "Its all in ones' mind" stated Vindya and further added that it's the way in which you prepare for and market yourself at an examination which actually determines the results. She continued in confirming her experience by adding that if a student tends to consider a paper as tough it would do nothing save for pressurizing them further and making them unable to perform at their best at the exam.

When inquired of the remedy behind her stunning performance, the very first words Vindya strongly emphasized were that "Self confidence counts a lot and I never carried a huge exam mentality in my head and I always took it as a challenge to win rather than a burden to carry". According to her the best technique is to cover all areas of the syllabus and to walk into the examination without a single doubt in mind, for which she fondly appreciates her lecturers for all the personal attention given to the students and the perfect studying environment they created for them at all times. "I've never been a time table person because I don't like to press myself to study, I like what I do and give my best when required and that's all that it takes" admitted Vindya.

The victorious pupil of ICASL is a perfect example to all students of every field to excel their skills in time management and determination and she wishes to share with all her colleagues a reflection which has been behind her success "Put away all negative thoughts, every one has problems and it's just a matter of how you decide to over come them. Don't let what people say affect your life, if you think you can do it then that's it, just go ahead and earn it!"

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