Share and Inspire

by Sravanthi Vallampati

It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving and just as the town was recovering from the holiday festivities, a unique sort of event took center stage at the Solon Community Church. It was neither religious nor cultural, but had a somewhat similar feel to it where time-tested traits like courage, dedication, hard work, passion and service with particular emphasis on originality and the will to achieve, painted a ‘Sure as Rain’ picture of success.

As like-minded parents and kids thronged to settle themselves in, I couldn’t help but realize that my usual mental weariness associated with frigid winter afternoons was fading away quickly as the expanse of the hall room started to come alive with warm smiles, hearty greetings and cheerful voices. It was like Thanksgiving all over again. And surprisingly, it did not seem as cold and dark anymore. The event was due to begin in less than ten minutes, so I met with a few friends that I had not seen in sometime, hurriedly glanced at the profiles of the featured youngsters, grabbed a cup of coffee, ushered the kids to their designated stations and sat down, rather at the edge of my chair, excited at the prospect of listening to what a couple of my favorite young ladies who I had known since their Kindergarten years had to say in public about their experiences in high school, what it took for them to be the Valedictorians of their respective schools and make headway into reputed colleges in pursuit of excellence. Little did I know that I was in for a thrilling surprise in not one, not two but six speakers and a set of five accomplished panelists that were invited to aid as career advisors. It suddenly dawned on me that I was in esteemed company. The microphones turned on, the lights dimmed, snack-bar closed and we were ready for action.

The Master of Ceremonies Dr. Gopal Yadavalli explained to the audience the intent behind ‘Share and Inspire’ - the result of a collective desire of a community that believes in Education as being key to success while recognizing the talent that is latent in our kids today, talent that seeks inspiration from trailblazers like our speakers to make it through the daunting yet navigable wilderness of high school and beyond. ‘Share and Inspire’ at the outset also sought to educate and encourage the parent community to break away from their narrow focus and widen their horizons in learning about the rich variety of rewarding professions that the new globalized market of today offers so they can better complement the efforts of their children in preparing for their future endeavors.

The first 3 speakers were freshmen at universities. Keerthana, Mathura and Sruti are meritorious graduates from their high schools and were all featured in the Plain Dealer’s list of Head of Class/most promising youngsters of 2008. As Keerthana’s PowerPoint presentation lit up the AV screen, I couldn’t help but regret forgetting a pad and a pencil to take notes for this write-up. Relying on the speed of today’s internet, the support of my communication-savvy sponsors and my own memory to jot down the various impressions, I took a deep breath, got over my lack of preparedness and braced myself up for what promised to be a fun afternoon.
Keerthana Bolisetty a National Merit finalist in her first year of the 7-year direct Medical Program at Ohio State presented all aspects of the journey to success in an admirably organized fashion, categorizing academics, Extra-curriculars and Service and Volunteerism as cornerstones to well-roundedness in the high school years. “Academics is not just grades” she said, recommending the incorporation of a healthy dose of extra-curricular activities that comes from following one’s interests like playing sports, taking memberships in clubs etc. culminating in opportunities for Leadership and wider interaction with a variety of people and interests . Keerthana made a special mention of how summer work (Internships, Research projects) and service and volunteering projects can augment the list of achievements while providing exposure to the real world. Her account of the college application process, essays and narrowing the focus to visiting to 5-7 colleges was precise and practical.

With an opening tribute to her inspiration, Richard P. Feynman, Mathura Jaya Sridharan, a National Merit Scholar, Valedictorian, accomplished singer and dancer, currently a freshman at MIT, entranced the audience with her version of the Friedmann equation where she theorized that “stress must be positive and increasing in order to create a ratio that is greater than one thus ensuring positive results” and went on to further the theory with “if stress cannot be assessed, then one can ascertain that the number of activities per unit time must be greater than the speed of light (speed at which your mind must think) squared, divided by the amount of stress that diminishes efficiency”. How very ‘Original’ and entertaining! By the end of her elucidation, the audience, me included, was reeling with partial understanding coupled with amusement and I was frantically overworking my memory to see if I could recall anything about Feynman other than the 2 facts that I remember from my school days. One, that he was a Nobel Prize winning physicist and the other, that he was a fellow Taurean, vicariously giving me the distinguished pleasure of being in the same league as him which of course meant more than the Nobel Prize itself back then. Well, nothing else came to mind and I quickly put my listening ears on again. From deciphering equations for modeling a homogeneous, isotropic universe, Mathura brought us back, in the batting of an eyelid, to the real world with her stress on the importance of SATs. It is the “familiarity with the problems that counts” she insisted, stating ‘Practice’ as fundamental to acing the much talked about tests! Picking right up from where Keerthana left off on the matter of extra-curricular activities, she highlighted that one should not feel the need to take up and list a string of activities just because they make a resume` look good, instead, emphasize on the few that tell a tale of genuine interest and continuing passion. An accomplished Carnatic vocalist and a Bharatanatyam dancer herself, Mathura said that she did not think to look beyond her two interests to project herself as a candidate fit to be admitted into a top university. Whether it be for essay and resume` writing or for enjoying oneself, Mathura’s advice was to be ‘Original’ – be and say who ‘You’ are!

Our last speaker in the freshmen advising seniors’ category was Avon High’s Valedictorian, Sruti Ramadugu, who chose to be elegantly up-front about the challenges that lay ahead with a ‘School = Work’ slogan! Currently attending New York University, it was evident from her profile that as the Captain of her school’s Tennis team and Lt. Governor of the Junior Statesmen of America it was not like she did not enjoy participating in activities other than academics, but her ‘School should be your primary job’ sent a clear and concluding message to all present and drew attention back to the basics. At this point, I could not help but notice the parents’ “See, I said so!” reaction manifesting in a squinted gaze as I craned my neck almost involuntarily to find my daughter who conveniently seemed to have found a seat far away from where I was. Sruti, like her peers, went on to reiterate the importance of the SATs but cautioned against underestimating the PSATs. Her recommendation also included attempting the ACTs and SATs early on so as to be able to take advantage of opportunities to improve. Advanced Placement (AP) credits that can be achieved during the high school years can give you a “leg up in college, so take as many as you can” she encouraged the eager beavers cheerfully. Just as I was thinking of extra-curriculars came a perfectly singular mention of “If you can’t t find something that interests you … Start Something New!”. The casual delivery almost made the magnitude of such an undertaking seem trivial but she was not joking. When Sruti realized that there was no avenue to further her interest in Politics and Communication, she went ahead and started the Cleveland chapter of JSA (Junior State of America – Junior Statesman Foundation) and is now serving as the Lt. Governor of JSA for the Ohio River Valley.
Between Keerthana, Mathura and Sruti, whatever their style or inspiration, serious medicine, persuasive politics, charming communication, delightful dance or melodious music, one thing was clear – their unwavering belief that their desire to succeed, ignited by passion and fuelled by hard work will pave the path to pursuing that passion and achieving their ambitions! While the senior students labored to refine, resolve and reconcile the material that was delivered to them by the speakers and the high-schoolers responded to nudges from parents raring to get them to focus now that it was their turn to be target audience, I found myself indulging in some major admiration of the unique talents, motivation and the keen sense of personal identity that these youngsters had and the ease with which they projected themselves as heroes with a touch of magic and a ton of tenacity.

We were ready for part II of the proceedings and without further ado, Sheba Mathew, a senior at Hudson High School graced the podium. Her self-assured manner gave round 2 a solid ice-breaking start. Her emphasis on ‘Self’ echoed her belief that a conscious blend of courage, passion, creativity, initiative and perseverance can act like a magical talisman before which all obstacles inevitably vanish into thin air. Enrolled in Temple University’s 5-year Physician Scientist Training Program and serving as the President of the National Honor Society (Hudson chapter) and the Science Fair club, a dancer, writer and singer, Sheba was all about ‘Change’. Her compendium consisted of benchmarks in various areas set not by school curriculum or any other external entity but by oneself. She was convinced that success depended on taking risks and facing fears, on not being afraid to explore in pursuit of passion, on actively thinking and questioning and going after what you want (Colleges Love this) and above all on staying optimistic and emerging through challenges by working hard and smart! Coming from her, “Break out of your comfort zone and push yourself to the limits” sounded so easy. I could almost touch her energy and confidence. Without losing the momentum that she had gained, she went on to highlight some of the challenges seniors face that are a little outside the academic realm. “If the pressure to get a Driver’s license is at the tops, you are not alone” she remarked before totting up her presentation with suggestions like keeping a journal, self-evaluating from time to time and finding a balance between academic and non-academic activities to help live up to the challenges. Sheba could not have ended her presentation better than with the Mahatma’s “You must be the change that you want to see in the world.”

The second of the seniors that took center-stage was Vinay Suresh of St. Ignatius whose easy manner and comic-strip style presentation belied the power in his message at first glance, was just what the audience needed as the intensity of the afternoon was at its ultimate. He seemed curiously amused by people’s interest in knowing about him and his accomplishments, he tutors Math at school and is a ‘Unanimous superior’ pianist by-the-way! The casual ‘Stuff’ he summed up in 5 busy slides consisted of academics, extra-curriculars, social stuff, service and exams. He was not ‘off the mark’ when he agreed with his predecessors that one has to choose a subject of one’s interest even when the choice is slim without feeling overburdened by difficult classes. “Do not be afraid to drop the activities that spark no interest”, I am sure was reassuring to some in the audience that continue to feel the need to invest time and effort in activities they realize have no sustaining power either in one’s imagination or in his or her future. This is probably what Francis Bacon meant when he said “How can I take an interest in my work when I don’t like it”? I would have loved to dwell on the tricky relationship between interest and liking but there came rather quickly a simple yet brilliant angle to extra-curriculars. Extra-curriculars as ‘Stress-relievers’! Why did I not think of that? Enough has been said on stress being a necessary consequence of a problem-solving mind but how difficult is it to pick something you like, drop what you don’t and use your choice to relieve stress? Surely not difficult at all but it is amazing how many of us don’t look at it that way. Another powerful assertion for the afternoon was the importance of maintaining a good social circle, a set of social connections that could become a part of one’s life forever. We may never know if our successes or failures are entirely due to our heredity but we definitely can rely on the knowledge that our chances to improve are greatly affected by our ability to use our environment to the best possible extent. “Taking advantage of service opportunities and drawing from others’ perspectives can change you for the better”, stated Vinay emphatically. On the subject of exams, “don’t stress, really don’t” was received with more than just a sigh of relief. As for staying on task, paying attention in class and doing homework on time is something we all do already, don’t’ we?

have a fascination for proverbs and sayings myself, but never before had I seen someone serve them up in a manner so impressive. Tayjas Sathe of Solon High, a National merit Semi-finalist, winner of the Science Olympiad and part-time Magician did not have to say much to attract attention for starters than merely look at Einstein’s “ It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer ” as it decorated the AV set. I instantly knew that I would have a difficult time picking favorites in this category; Time-tested, revered, popular, funny or penetrating, whatever the type, flavor or impact, sayings and quotation are at the least thought-provoking. It is this ‘seedling of thought’ that we are gathered here to sow, sow so it may one day blossom to help our youth rely on their knowledge, realize their passions, have the courage to pursue them and be successful in whatever their subject of choosing may be. Tayjas brought John Capozzi, Montaigne, Ben Franklin, Robert Frost, Oscar Wilde, Pablo Picasso, Swami Vivekananda, Theodore Roosevelt and Winston Churchill to relay their timeless truths through words that immaculately conveyed the power of their genius by engaging the audience in an internal dialogue of sorts. Whether it was an allusion to finding a ‘free lunch only in mousetraps’ or to the ‘elevator to success being out of order’, the message was easy to understand yet potent. There was nothing trite about “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars” or “Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm” either. Embodying the concentrated experience of our race, these messages still have in them the command to elicit fresh responsiveness from current day minds that are replete with invigorating ideas and capable of intense imagination. His disarming style in rendering the meaning of his quotations to the animated audience summed up the show for all present. Roosevelt’s kudos to the ‘man in the arena’ whose face is marred by dust, sweat and blood was a reference to the valiant youth who is preparing to face the challenges of the real world, who inevitably will toil but ultimately have the distinction of spending himself in a worthy cause, enumerated not among those that neither know victory nor defeat but among heroes! My exhilaration knew no bounds and there came the clincher – a picture that was worth a thousand words. An image of a kitten looking at its ‘Lion’s’ reflection and the title read “What matters most is how you see yourself”. Nothing else needed to be said.

The idea of sharing and inspiring was aptly complemented by the panelists who served as ‘successful’ examples of the theme for the afternoon. These career advisors brought with them stories of their childhood interests, shared their thoughts on how they recognized their subject/s of interest and the challenges they faced along the way to accomplish what they truly regard and enjoy today. Whether it was Dr. Gopal Yadavalli’s account of his realization that he had to study medicine as soon as he became conscious of the fact that he was Indian, or Debjani Roy’s fascination for French and Communication and the need to be out there, or Sabeshan Periyathamby’s pre-occupation with dismantling and re-assembling mechanical gadgets, or Kishore Dhupati’s quest to find his passion in his later years of college or Shyam Kumar’s ultimate dedication to Service, what was evident was that each of them heeded to their interest, passion or calling, whatever we may choose to call it, and pursued it until they emerged to be the best at what they did. In today’s world, it is no mediocre effort to define ‘Success’. Success seldom comes from a random spontaneous act or passing participation in the ‘10 Secrets to Success’ seminar but it most certainly does from knowing your goal, not losing sight of it no matter how unsteady the ride and moving towards it unswervingly. Currently, Dr. Gopal Yadavalli serves as the Chief-Infectious Diseases Clinic, Louis Stokes Medical Center and Associate Program Director at the University Hospitals, Debjani Roy practices Federal Disability and Social Security Law at the Balin Law firm, Sabeshan Periyathamby is a Lead Project Engineer at Goodrich Aerospace, Kishore Dhupati is Director of Strategic Planning at Parker Hannifin and Shyam Kumar, Managing Director of Teach for America.
To our younger generation they unquestionably help strengthen the mind and ambition inspire!

A fitting tribute to the afternoon’s proceedings was an inspiring presentation by one of the career advisors Shyam Kumar, a Case-Western graduate who sought to lace his successful career at GE with a spirited commitment to Education, a service he simply believed effects eternity! It was evident from the various examples of community service like the rehabilitation of down-trodden neighborhoods to providing a modern-age learning environment to kids and young adults from low-income families who may only have dreamed of such luxury, that he saw incredible value in being of service to others. His deep faith in divine intervention welled through his passionate narrations of how ‘things just fell in place’ as he gathered up volunteers and set out on a mission to live up to Sri Satya Sai Baba’s saying, “ The Service of man is the only means by which you can serve God”. A proud participant in the ‘Grameena Seva’ movement in India, Shyam started ‘Educare’ at GE, a program rooted in the belief that all children have their characteristic leadership qualities within them waiting to be drawn out by the nurturing of positive traits that emerge and replace those that are troublesome. It is people like Shyam that make it possible to understand the meaning in the belief that the end of all knowledge and education should surely be service to others.

Last but not least, my kudos, a symbolic standing ovation and sincere thanks to the Sponsors of the event that were responsible for the conception of the idea to the orchestration of all aspects of the event. It is challenging, putting it mildly, to express in words the dedication and commitment exhibited by them to causes that are beyond themselves. They have truly shown that an idea when nurtured with care and shaped by sincerity of thought and investment of time can evolve into a beautiful thing that gratifies not only the visionary but benefits an entire community. Aided by the unstinting support of numerous friends in the community, ‘Share and Inspire’ has been instrumental in exposing the enormous talent and accomplishments of graduating and senior Indian students and vital in instilling in the parent community, a sense of camaraderie in the knowledge that they are not alone in their earnest desire to help their sons and daughters succeed.

Somewhere along the course of the event, unbeknownst to me, an unthinking delight took over me and I lost total recognition of my participation as a parent. It was strangely similar to the feeling I get when I take my kids to chuck-e-Cheeses for their play date but completely lose myself to the sights, sounds, colors and tokens that I receive. With this session ending in such a resounding success, my hope is that the tradition continues to thrive and inspire coming generations of youth and parents alike. With their inimitable style and thorough enthusiasm to truly affect the youngsters’ ways of thinking and acting, the speakers and career advisors that carried the event to such a conclusion have truly won the crowd over.

On behalf of the entire community I wish the freshmen and seniors the very best as they embark on loftier goals. There is no question that the road that lies ahead will be a difficult one but the trick to reaching those goals lies in saddling up and looking at the skies ….. Let’s get moving then!
Good Luck and keep up the fantastic spirit!
Dec 2008