A High School Students Talks Immigration, Pressure, And Dreams!
At a time when schools are reopening in a way most of us would never have anticipated, high school students are rising up to the challenges and adjusting to a new normal- online learning, whilst preparing for college in right earnest and managing all of their extracurriculars.
Such is the reality for Madhalasa Iyer, a high school sophomore from Texas who is currently busy juggling volunteering roles, extracurricular activities, and AP Courses, whilst navigating her new student life amid a global pandemic and a crucial school year.
For Madhalsa, childhood was an immigration experience as well
When asked what some of her greatest challenges in life were, she said, ‘’When I moved, I realized I had to adapt to school. I had a very thick accent and soon found out I was incomprehensible to some of my peers,’’ she said. Madhalasa moved to the United States from India when she was in the 4th grade and was determined to adapt to her new life against all odds. She took the time to adjust to the transition to her new life as well as the isolation that came with it when she came to the United States. She spent her time reading a lot of books and even entered speech and debate camps as well as tournaments to improve her language and make the best use of her learning opportunities.
Madhalsa on her love for Math and Science
In her own way, Madhalasa reminds all of us of shells of our high school selves when we were all open to new possibilities and preparing to finally set out into the world and carve our own paths in the world. ‘’I have no fear of uncertainty. I am hopeful that whatever I do and wherever I go, all I want to do is impact tons of people. I am not very scared,’’ she believes and is fearless and steadfast in her resolve. She expressed her own dream to make the world a better place by becoming a pre-med student and later pursuing medicine to ‘’create social impact.’’ ‘’I came from a very small town in India and I know the impact doctors can have on such small communities.’’
Madhalasa also spoke about her love for Science at great length right from the beginning of our talk. She recently finished a project at Myntor, an e-learning platform using AP Calculus to solve technical problems that matter in today’s world. With the passion and fiery gusto she brought to Myntor’s Demo Day which was held on the 29th of August, she spoke about how she closely engaged with a problem with her peers. ‘’Myntor provided me with a good application to explore a different project. I like Calculus even more after learning how applicable it can be in the real world.’’ She conducted a project which involved making a robotic exoskeleton to help identify elbow injuries. ‘’We identified some of the problems we wanted to solve. We found the derivates to maximize the elbow joint and then designed an exoskeleton to maximize the speed of the elbow joint.’’
Madhalasa’s story is one of extreme dedication and tenacity in the face of new situations and challenges, especially as these have been near constants in her life. When asked her what kept her going and how she continues to march to the beat of her own drum and persevere she simply replied, ‘’I tend to be an optimist in most situations and I am hopeful there will always be a way out.’’ Madhalasa certainty leaves us with many more questions about being a high school student in today’s climate. She even inspires us to look at our trying and rather dismal times with a little more clarity, positivity, and most importantly, hope through her sheer will and resolute and unwavering commitment to continue to march ahead.
Shivani has written for various platforms about social issues, particularly those concerning gender equality and education. She wrote this article as a part of her writing and research work for Myntor, an e-learning platform that prepares students to tackle the AP Calculus course and develop technical solutions to real-world problems.
