"The parents'  pressure to perform well puts too much stress on a child who is most of the time angry,  irritable, short-tempered and aggressive..." says Dr Carmelita Goveas-D'Souza, speaking exclusively to Daijiworld.com

Daijiworld News Network - city bureau
Date of publication: 28.02.2005

Carmelita Goveas, professor and head, Department of Commerce, Besant Women's College, Mangalore, has been awarded the PhD by Mangalore University for her thesis entitled "Corporate Capital Structure and Cost of Capital - A study of Companies in Selected Industries". She was guided by Prof T Mallikarjunappa, of the Department of Business Administration, Mangalore University. Carmelita is an alumna of St Agnes College. Currently residing at Derebail, Mangalore, she is the daughter of Abundius and Rosy Goveas of Bondel, Mangalore and the only sister of five brothers. She is the wife of builder and real estate developer Vincent D'souza and mother of two talented daughters Roshni and Rashmi D'souza.

Carmelita is also a well-known stage artiste, who has performed in several Konkani, Kannada and English plays; she has been acclaimed as one of the excellent actresses of the Konkani stage. Also a talented singer, she has to her credit a number of awards and prizes for the same. An accomplished orator, she has excelled in public speaking. In her younger days she has been a very dynamic youth leader and animator. She had been a very active memberof the Catholic Youth Movement, Kala Sampath, St Dominic Youth club and others.

Rendering a song

For the past twentyfive years she has been working in Besant Women's College as professor of commerce and has dedicated her life towards motivating and enthusing the young student community to have goals in life and work towards the achievement of these goals.

As a result of the encouragement she received from her family members, management of her college and financial help from the UGC, she undertook this research work, which she says, though was backbreaking at times, has filled her with a sense of academic fulfilment. She feels that her study outlining the various factors influencing Capital Structure and Cost of Capital in Indian companies can be an eye-opener for corporate houses, lenders, investors, financial analysts and the decision making authorities.

With husband and two daughters

Her message for the young men and women of today is "understand your goals in life, dream big, work very hard and uphold your values in life and remember there are no short-cuts to success".

Carmelita spoke to Richie Lasrado on various subjects:

What made you choose the teaching profession?

Basically I come from a family of illustrious teachers. Fr. Alexander Lobo, parish priest of Pangala, a state-level best teacher awardee is my maternal uncle. My maternal aunt Juliana Lobo is a well known and brilliant teacher of Mathematics who has served in St Agnes High School for more than 30 years. My mother too was a teacher in the St.Agnes Primary School. Their dedication to their profession and the joy they received in imparting education, as well as my interest in interacting with young people inspired me to choose the teaching profession.

How do you compare the student life of 30 years ago with that prevailing now?

The students of yesteryear were a happy lot. They had fewer tensions, and less competition to face. They had more time for games, recreation and extra-curricular activities. All these factors were very conducive to their all-round growth and development. Hence they were able to face life's challenges in a more mature way. The st