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While I was in India this June, the construction of the house my parents were building for my grandmother was finally completed. They bought land a few years ago that neighbored my grandmother’s house. My grandfather built her that house however, it was a long time ago. My parents wanted my grandmother to have a…

I was in Udupi, India when I visited the Shri Krishna Temple. This temple is a famous Hindu temple that serves as a holy place for daily prayer and living. Several temples that surround the Shri Krishna Temple are over 1000 years old, and the Shri Krishna Temple itself was founded in the 13th century….

After giving the three presentations to elementary schoolers through Beyond Schools, I was surprised to find out that my last presentation was going to be with high schoolers. As a high schooler myself, I questioned how I was qualified enough to stand on stage, lecturing people the same age if not older than me on…

Beyond Schools is a project by Sakar Foundation that aims to help youth learn about soft skills, ranging from setting boundaries to self care. This summer in India I helped record videos and present at schools specifically focused around healthy relationships The presentations focused on the differences between healthy and unhealthy relationships and featured various…

My dad grew up in a small village within Mangalore. It is in the state of Karnataka in India. He grew up with four siblings in a small house. His parents had beds but the kids had to sleep on the floor. He would wake up at three in the morning to deliver newspapers on…

During the pandemic, I was locked inside almost all day. I would wake up at 8:25, grab my computer, and start school at 8:30 in the morning, oftentimes not even getting out of my pajamas. Once school was over, I turned off my computer screen and returned to bed – that was if I ever…

I was sitting in the kitchen with my mom and sister, eating the usual breakfast of Cinnamon Toast Crunch with milk. My eyes locked onto my phone, while scrolling on Instagram. My mom was at the stove cooking eggs, and my sister was on her phone. Suddenly she blanked out for a second and almost…

During the pandemic, my robotics team hosted social nights every Friday. It served as a place to get away from the chaos of trying to build a robot over zoom, and allowed my freshman self to connect with other people in the robotics community. Although the social nights were virtual, we played games like Gartic…

Sometimes moms know best no matter how much we don’t want to admit it. In 7th grade my mom thought it would be beneficial for me to join my middle school robotics club. Initially, I was hesitant. What did she know about robotics, and more importantly, what did I possibly know about robotics? She dragged…

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen those words written in every classroom I have ever sat in. So ingrained into my head, each practice is second nature to me. I’ve never questioned throwing paper into the recycling bin, nor a plastic water bottle. What I thought was just being naive I later learned…

Hello! My name is Keithan Pai. I am 16 years old and I am Indian American. My family immigrated to America around 20 years ago after they both graduated from college back in India. The rest of my family stayed back and still continues to live there. I go back every summer to see them….