All-Star Series: Vidya Viswanathan
This is Part 4 of the All-Star Series. Recently, USA Today came out with their annual All-Academic team, showcasing 20 of the most talented and accomplished high school seniors in America. I was able to catch up with a bunch of them, interviewing them about their high school accomplishments, asking about their college admissions experiences, and begging them to share some of their nuggets of wisdom with y'all. Read my introduction post.
Quick facts:
Vidya just graduated from Herricks High School in New Hyde Park, New York. She will be attending Harvard in the fall. She graduated with a 3.94 GPA (unweighted out of 4.0).
Accomplishments:
Co-founder and president of the Herricks International Children's Aid Program, she spent last summer as a live-in volunteer at the Uluru Children's Home in southern India and has led efforts raising $3,000 for children in India; Intel Science Talent Search semifinalist; Girls State governor; National History Day state winner; NCTE writing award; French Club co-president placed fourth nationally in Le Grand Concours National French Contest; student newspaper co-editor in chief; World Affairs Club; class secretary and student representative to the Board of Education; Mathletes club; National Honor Society chapter president.
Tell us about the Herricks International Children's Aid Program and your experiences as a live-in volunteer in Southern India? What are some important life lessons that you learned from that experience?
The Herricks International Children's Aid Program (HICAP) was something I wanted to start because even though my school had charitable organizations, they were mainly directed to our immediate community and not our community on a global scale. It was hard to grow as an organization during our first year because we were all new and inexperienced. By the second year (my senior year), we really pursued our goals of fundraising and raising community awareness through presentations, selling hundreds of cool t-shirts, and various events. We have made the annual "HICAP dodge-ball tournament" our signature event by raising $2,000 from it this year. It was awesome to see so many teachers and students coming out in full spirit to play dodge-ball, and even more gratifying to know that we were raising money for children in need. Most of the money we raised this year will go to a girls orphanage called the Uluru Children's Home in Southern India, which I visited and volunteered at last summer. These children, currently all in the 2 yr-10 yr age range, were often abused, made to beg, diseased, or abandoned before being taken in by the orphanage. They are incredibly persevering and walk about 2 miles each day, with unicef backpacks but no shoes, to get to their hot and humid schoolhouse. I tried to help them with their English, ate meals with them, brought them presents, taught them some origami and arts and crafts, or helped with their homework. I think that they taught me more–I saw how, even with so much hardship, they were always smiling, always helping each other out and sharing, and always hopeful. I think that if more people saw that, they would realize how we focus too much on ourselves and our own problems and not enough on the problems of others. I hope that HICAP will continue to help orphanages such as these by fundraising or volunteering to give these children the educational opportunities that we are fortunate to have.
Mick Hagen
