'Half my fees were supported’—Pune techie pays emotional tribute to Sachin Tendulkar Foundation, recalls student days

A heartwarming story from Pune is winning hearts online after a young software engineer opened up about how Sachin Tendulkar's philanthropic work changed the course of his education. In a post that has been circulating widely on X, Kshitij Vaze recounted how the Sachin Tendulkar Foundation stepped in at a time when pursuing an engineering degree felt financially impossible.

Sharing his journey, Vaze wrote on X, "IDK if I have told y'all this before. But almost half my college fees were supported by Sachin Tendulkar 's charitable foundation, the STF. It is an NGO that supports meritorious applicants from weaker economic backgrounds."

He revealed that his strong CET score, coupled with his family’s modest financial situation, made him eligible for the scholarship. Describing the academic expectations tied to the aid, he said, “I was eligible because of my CET score, and because, well, financially, I was not in a position to start my engineering degree. To maintain my scholarship, I had to get a CGPA of 8+ throughout my degree, and well, I graduated with 8.12, meaning I was partially supported all the way till the end.”

Vaze recalled how things started to look up after his sixth semester, when an internship allowed him to cover his own daily expenses. Still, he insists that his academic aspirations would have remained distant dreams "without God himself helping me out."

In the same post, he mentioned being invited to a ceremony honouring students who completed their degrees with distinction. "Today, I am invited to be felicitated for graduating First class with distinction and to meet the other scholars of the foundation. I'm pretty sure that I am going to cry today lads."

He also shared an old 2025 letter from the Sachin Tendulkar Foundation – a document that once promised him support and has now become a symbol of how far he has come.

How social media users reacted:

One user wrote "Congo my man and wish u the best future" while another commented "Congratulations man. You did it and kudos to Sachin Tendulkar for supporting meritorious students to achieve their dreams." A third user expressed “Congratulations, so proud of your achievement. It really feels so special looking at people achieving such feats after coming from a humble background.”

More comments followed, with a user writing "excuses don't exist in our blood. kudos bhai" and another saying "truly inspirational." A final reaction read "Congratulations man. Well deserved for all the hard work you put in"