Shristi

My name is Shristi and I was born and raised in Richmond Hill, Queens. I still live in the home I was brought to the first day out of the hospital. My family emigrated here during the 1980’s looking for the “American Dream”, just like many other immigrant families. Growing up I was pushed to be the very best at everything I did. My grandmother, being a very strict Hindu and West Indian, enrolled me in music classes, Hindi classes, and took us to temple every Sunday. When at home, she taught me to clean and cook which, as a young Indian girl growing up, was all that mattered to the elders of the family. The push that my grandmother gave me has made me determined, talented, hardworking, and a cultured young woman.

In the 11^th grade, I took my first chemistry class and I grew a strong passion and interest in the subject. My teacher had doubts that no one would be able to pass the regents. He thought the class was filled with immature juniors whom chemistry was too difficult for and that the students were all anxiously waiting for graduation. I studied hard and received the highest grades in the class and on the New York State Chemistry Regents Exam. The exciting challenges of labs and tests gave me determination to always try my best. Proving my teacher wrong also made me content especially after all of the hard studying. Currently, I attend Brooklyn College and I intend to major in chemistry. Apart from my passion for chemistry, I also have a fervent love for classical Indian dancing and singing. Having learned these two activities at an early age, I have discovered talents that I now use to entertain other people at temples or other religious places.

However, the dearest passion to me is being able to help others. In high school I was part of a group called College for Every Student in which I was a leader and mentor for ten students. As a mentor, I was responsible for their academic and social growth in school. Portia, a girl in my group, began to slack off during the academic year. At first, Portia seemed to only focus on hanging out and being attractive. When we talked, I would tell her that her friends and looks would not be the things that make her successful and that she needed a stronger academic background. I showed her my grades and she was amazed. Knowing that she had the potential to do better and excel, I began to email her, text her, and I even kept track of her grades. In the beginning, I felt frustrated and saw little progress in what I was doing. However, as her sophomore year continued, her term averages improved from 65’s to 90’s. Today, she is one of the top students in her junior class and all it took was for her to realize she had someone supporting her and someone to look up to.

From my mentoring program, I learned that we cannot always resolve everyone’s conflicts, but show them the right path to solve their problems. Because of my experience with Portia and others like it, I have come to the conclusion that I want to become a chemistry teacher and help the future generation discover their passions, talents and potentials. I want to also continue on to get a PhD so that I can become a chemistry professor. In addition, I also want to have my own research team where I can collaborate with others to bring change to people’s lives.

Today I feel very fortunate for the journey my family took to provide me with all the things I have. With the resources and support that I will be receiving from New York Needs You, I hope to achieve my dream of becoming a teacher and a professor, teaching students the significance of education, and taking advantage of all opportunities given to me. I hope that networking with successful people will help me gain internships which will allow me to further my goals. Knowing the feeling of being a mentor, I am excited to have my own mentor who would change my life like I have done for Portia. I look forward to growing, not only as a student but as a person, and continue discovering hidden talents and potentials that I know exist within me.