The first thing I noticed when I saw the UWC Mahindra college website was the importance given to freedom, independence and responsibility. Coming from a small town and school that didn’t allow much room for such freedom, that aspect of the college attracted me instantly. When I arrived at Mahindra UWC of India, this was one of the first things that struck me there as well, other than the beautiful campus and amazingly friendly student body that seemed to want to hug everybody else. The college gave the students a voice and that is something you won’t find in other high schools. There, our opinions mattered and were taken into consideration when making decisions from choosing the menu for lunch to picking faculty members for the school, students were involved everywhere. It was also amazing how easy it was to raise an issue and do something about it and how quickly action was taken. The college also had some amazing people, talented and opinionated and, most importantly, driven. Everyone seemed to have something they were passionate about and something they wanted to work towards. There was also more diversity in opinions than there was in race or nationality. Everybody seemed to have something to bring to the table and it is this very diversity that I expect to see in Lewis & Clark. L&C seemed to focus on diversity and bringing together talented and opinionated change makers, which is exactly what UWC is all about.
As of now, I plan to do a double major in psychology and theatre, but that may change over the next couple of years. Though these two seem quite different, I feel that they both teach me about people and emotions and the two fascinate me. I see one as learning about them and the other as expressing the same and hope to do more of that. My academic interests, other than the subjects I want to major in, extend to a bit of biology, English literature and gender and culture studies. Gender and culture in some ways go back to psychology and theatre for me as they all deal with people and the way they behave.
I can be found obsessing over a new book or TV show or randomly bursting into song (that and my height gave me the nickname Oompa Loompa). I love fantasy books, especially Harry Potter that I end up quoting from, much to the annoyance of some people.
I haven’t been out of Asia before so Portland is a big trip and I’m really excited. I’m even more excited for Lewis & Clark because I think the college will let me explore new concepts, try out new things and introduce me to a new world with inspiring people and ideas which will all help me build and develop who I am.