Sindhuja Rayaprolu is a senior at JFK Memorial High School and will be attending Stony Brook College in New York for biomedical engineering. Although she has only been in JFK for two years, she has made an incredible impact and impression on the school and staff. Her accomplishments and academic drive are truly remarkable and have helped her grow personally and academically.
I had the opportunity to speak with Sindhuja about her time here at JFK and how she felt now that she was leaving us. She shared some great information about what the transition from a different country was like it and how her past educational traditions were so different from the states.
I know that you recently moved here from India. How is schooling different there than it is in the United States?
Sindhuja: When I moved here, the first thing I really liked was the ESL classes which helped me with my English and all. After that, in India, it was more of a look-at-the-book, summarize everything, and then put it in your brain, and then just say whatever you learned. But here, you do some practical stuff, which I really liked. In India, it was more of a mugging-up work [study quickly], where here it was understanding and going through everything.
Were the schooling days the same amount as the states or was it longer?
No. In India, we start our semester around June until February, so it was a whole year. We didn’t have any breaks in between, like Thanksgiving break or winter break or spring break. We had school every day, except Sundays. We also had school on Saturday until 3:30. [School was] from 7 -3:30 every day.
Did you predict high school to go the way you thought it would?
No. Initially, I was really afraid when the teachers were talking to me [because] I was stuttering a lot. But eventually, I just saw that the teachers are so friendly and then they helped me with all of my work.
What did you think school was going to be like in the states? How did you picture it?
I thought I’d be a very silent girl in the class where I wouldn’t work at all. I just thought that I did not belong in this crowd, but then my friends and all of the teachers really pushed me forward into the crowd.
Did you make friends easily or was it a little difficult for you?
The first day I walked into the gym, and then I made some new friends from India. They lived around that part [where I’m from]. After that, in my classes, I started talking to people around me. I never thought that I’d have such a big friend group, but I have a lot of friends now.
When did you move here from India?
September 14th, 2022, but I joined school around mid-October.
Which college are you going to?
Stony Brook University in New York.
Is that where you originally wanted to go or did you want to go somewhere else?
No, I wanted to go to Rutgers University in New Brunswick because even before I came here… my father was always talking about Rutgers New Brunswick, and once I submitted my application, I didn’t get in. I was not even on the waitlist. I got into other branches of Rutgers, but they were just not what I wanted. Then I got into Stony Brook for biomedical engineering and I got honors in “Women in STEM” and “Women in Engineering” [programs]. I felt really proud even though I didn’t get into [the college] I wanted.
Did you always know you wanted to do biomedical engineering, or was there something else you wanted to do?
Yeah, I kind of always knew I wanted to do something related to the medicine field. My grandfather played a really big role [in my academic life]. He was the one who inspired me because there was not a lot of equipment [medical] in India, so that’s what I wanted to do, something that none of my family members did.
What do you think your biggest struggle in high school was and how do you think that helped you?
My biggest struggle was telling teachers I already knew the stuff because in India we were really fast. I knew a lot of stuff even before coming here, like all of the lessons. I didn’t know how to tell the teachers. Eventually, I did, but that was the biggest struggle: speaking up, which I couldn’t do at all.
What do you think are some mistakes you’ve made in high school, or opportunities that you’ve missed that you hope people don’t take advantage of?
The first year I came [to JFK], even though I knew I needed to be part of clubs for college applications or just for myself, I never took [the] opportunity of them [clubs] because I just didn’t know. I thought they were just random, after school activities. Once I joined Key Club, and once I joined American Cancer Society, I saw how important and how much of a difference I make in our community.
How was your junior year? Was it really difficult?
Junior year, I got some basic classes here [that are] the graduation requirements. Usually, I was really afraid to speak up, but I overcame it in the second semester. I just felt like junior year was the year that everyone needed to focus a lot. I wasn’t in that right spot because I just came from India. I was really worried about my SAT scores and I was really worried about my college applications, but I made it.
What clubs are you involved in and would you say that those helped you?
Yes. I am a part of a lot of clubs. I am in Choir, Key Club, which I am president of. I am in NHS, I am in Dance Exchange, DEI, and Indic Ally. I am in a lot of clubs. I am also in American Cancer Society and the Yearbook. In junior year, I was just in Key Club and American Cancer Society, but senior year, I just felt like I needed to make use of them [clubs], I needed to do what I wanted to do.
Do you think those clubs could give people a learning experience, whether that be socially or academically?
Yeah, socially, I feel like Key Club and Cancer Society and Choir made me really stand out in the crowd. Getting into NHS and becoming president of Key Club gave me a lot of strength for myself that [made me feel like] I could do whatever I wanted. Also socially because they just helped me go out to the crowd and show what I really am.
Are you worried about college?
I am, I am so worried about college. I feel like it’s a process that I’ll be awesome eventually. I didn’t know how high school would be when I came here, but I made it. I feel like college will be the same; I don’t know how to be in college or be in the dorms. It’s just going.
What is one thing you think underclassmen should know about high school, specifically the importance of college and the application process?
That’s a really big question. I just feel like all the underclassmen should be socially active in classes or in clubs. They know what to do already, they just don’t know what they’re capable of. They should really make use of what they have, all of the opportunities they have. I feel like studies do play a really big role, but clubs and all of the other activities you do out of school, or whatever you do when you have free time, really define you. So I feel like it’s more of a process of perfection. You need to do so you’ll be perfect.
