Massachusetts Tamil Sangam — Honoring Grads of 2022 

Of all the communal ambitions of the newly inaugurated Massachusetts Tamil Sangam, their passion to encourage the next generation was beautifully demonstrated on July 16th at the Shrewsbury Public Library. The Sangam not only honored the accomplished graduates of the Class of 2022, but also had a high school info session and career guidance speeches from professionals from various fields. This house-full event was made special by the chief guests, Dr. Jagan Srinivasan and Dr. Snehalata Kadam. 

Commencing the event by singing Thamizh Thai Vaazhthu were three Kalaimagal Tamil School students, Kavin Mithuna Vijayakumar, Haritha Palaniappan, and Tanishka Suresh. This was followed by the American National Anthem. By this time, as you looked around the room, nearly all the seats were filled with an awaiting audience. 

To begin the eventful evening was a high school informational session led by rising seniors at Shrewsbury High School: Sanjana Venkateshwaran, Smrithi Krishnaswamy and Tharegha Manoharan. They talked about various important topics including Course Selection, AP Courses, SAT/ACT/PSAT Exams, Community Service, Extracurriculars, and obtaining the Seal of Biliteracy from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. These young volunteers worked diligently to bring out and deliver the most useful information for future high schoolers and their parents. They also took questions from the audience and gave insightful answers in hopes of clarifying doubts and relieving stress of both students and parents. 

The next segment of the program was a career guidance session from experts across popular fields. Dr. Priyanka Suresh Ph.D., an associate consultant for McKinsey & Co. and a graduate of Case Western Reserve University, provided a virtual address about her flourishing field, chemical engineering. She made sure to get her point across to all generations in explaining how chemical engineering was way more common than we may have noticed and how it is necessary in all sorts of industries with its own growing career opportunities. Next, Dr. Kalaiselvi Sivalingam Ph.D., a research scientist at Tufts Medical School in Boston, gave a presentation on the growing field of biotechnology. She talked about the major branches and applications of biotechnology in addition to providing the future generation with career opportunities at the biotechnology hubs of the world at various biopharmaceutical companies. She also made sure to highlight the growing trends in biotechnology and developments that future scientists will have the opportunity to explore. The next speaker, Mr. Venkat Balakrishnan, a solution architect for Salesforce in Boston and YouTube celebrity, talked about the many opportunities available for future Information Technology enthusiasts. He advised students about the importance of knowing certain skills and how it may help with internships and future jobs. He also did not fail to mention the millions of opportunities present in his field, especially those growing for the next generations, including AI. The last career guidance speaker, but certainly not the least, was our very own Dr. Saritha Venkatesh, a medical director at EMD Serono in Boston. She began by talking about how she came to study medicine, and thoroughly explained the process of studying pre-med and then going on to medical school for future doctors. Not only that, Dr. Venkatesh explained how there were so many opportunities after undergrad such as the growing pharmaceutical industry highlighting its importance in relevance to the growing diseases in today’s society. 

Approaching the highlight of the day’s event, Dr. Kalaiselvi Sivalingam, a keen volunteer of Massachusetts Tamil Sangam, introduced the honorable chief guests, Dr. Jagan Srinivasan and Dr. Snehalata Kadam. Dr. Srinivasan is an associate professor at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute as well as vice president of the India Society of Worcester. He is also a visiting professor at the department of physics at Harvard University where he develops optical tools to image brain activity. His wife, Dr. Kadam, is an assistant professor of physics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a founding member of the Association of Women in Science (AWIS) Central Massachusetts chapter which brings together women from both academics and industry to share their experiences and inspire the next generation of women scientists. 

Dr. Srinivasan and Dr. Kadam honored the stars of the day’s event, the graduates of the Class of 2022: 

Akshay Shivashankar was a graduate from the Advanced Math and Science Academy and will be studying computer science at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is interested in pursuing a concentration in Artificial Intelligence, specifically human-computer interactions. 

Ananya Narayanan graduated from Ashland High School this past June. She will be majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UMASS Amherst with an aim to do a Phd. She is also interested in cancer research. 

Joshika Selvaraj has graduated from the Advanced Math and Science Academy and will be attending the University of Connecticut this fall focused on the pre-med track. She has learned music and bharatanatyam, and recently finished her arangetram under Smt. Sapna Krishnan. 

Shreya Suresh recently graduated from the Advanced Math and Science Academy and will be attending the University of Connecticut with a major in Allied Health Sciences in hopes to enter the medical field with an interest in biology and psychology. 

Sreya Sankar is a graduate of Shrewsbury High School who has a strong passion for music of all styles. This fall, she will be attending her dream school, Berklee College of Music where she will be majoring in Music Production and Sound engineering. 

Sruthi Tanikella is a graduate from the Commonwealth Honors College at UMASS Amherst with a bachelors in Microbiology and an Integrated Concentration in Science. She hopes to pursue a graduate or medical degree focused on immunology and rheumatology. 

Rithika Prasad graduated from Shrewsbury High School and was involved in activities such as the school newspaper and multiple honor societies. This fall, she will be attending Northeastern University with a combined major in Data and Health Science. 

Vidyut Veedgav is a recent graduate of Shrewsbury High a school who is an active member of his community as he was involved with music, volunteering, Speech and Debate and the swim team. He will be going to Case Western Reserve University to pursue a double major in Finance and Computer Science. 

Congratulations to all the graduates and thank you for their inspiring speeches following the honoring ceremony. The Masters of Ceremony for this event were youth volunteers led by the enthusiastic volunteers of Massachusetts Tamil Sangam, Saritha Venkatesh and Tanya Desigan. The youth volunteers— Kamalini Balamurugan, Nikita Sundaram, Varshini Arumugam, Sanjana Venkateshwaran, and Tharegha Manoharan— beautifully introduced all the graduates and career professionals. In addition, aspiring and even-younger volunteers, Diya Sankar and Kavin Mithuna Vijayakumar, carried out the professional designs of the presentation and program flyer. 

Wrapping up the evening were inspiring speeches from chief guests, Dr. Jagan Srinivasan and Dr. Snehalata Kadam. Dr. Srinivasan and Dr. Kadam both talked about their unique journeys to where they are today and wished for all the best for all the graduates. Dr. Srinivasan expanded upon his humble beginnings and talked about the importance of passion, curiosity and self-belief. With these, anyone can do whatever they wish; grades and talent can get you a part of the way there, but by being curious and wanting to learn more, anyone can do what they put their heart to as long as they believe in themselves. Such impactful words said by Dr. Srinivasan, and when we wonder where his energy and enthusiasm comes from, it's from his students. Not only that, he says himself that seeing his own students, students on campus, are not only studying and learning, but also sometimes sacrificing their mental health, it has helped him realize the determination behind every student to succeed and make a difference. Dr. Snehalata Kadam is a strong believer of not only curiosity and passion, but the importance of having courage as well. She talks about our goal should be to look at our past, accomplished self and say “Wow, I did that”. The power and ability to adapt and learn, especially when faced with new challenges, is priceless. She also acknowledges the importance of equality in society. Dr. Kadam encourages young women to bring out the best of themselves into society no matter where they are in life. Lastly, she elegantly ends her speech by emboldening young women to put their best selves out there and for all youngsters to never lose their enthusiasm, curiosity and courage. 

The Massachusetts Tamil Sangam would like to heartily thank Dr. Jagan Srinivasan and Dr. Snehalata Kadam as well as little Uruvi for making the event so special. The Massachusetts Tamil Sangam team hopes they made an impact on the accomplished graduates as they remind them that they are not a single person, part of one family, but a significant individual, part of a larger, loving community who will always be with them every step of the way. 

This event was a grand success made possible by the devoted and energetic volunteers of the Massachusetts Tamil Sangam: Sankar Sundaram, Saritha Venkatesh, Tanya Desigan, Manoharan Ganapathy, Rampriya Balamurugan, Ramesh Palanisamy, Veerendiran Nachimuthu, Kalaiselvi Sivalingam, Prabakaran Subramaniam, Krishnaswamy Venkataraman and Raji Sankaran. Thank you to Vijayakumar Ramdoss and Palaniappan Ramanathan for photography and Venkat Arumugam for videography at the event! We are deeply grateful for all those who showed up on the warm Saturday afternoon, we will always be trying to bring more events and resources for every one of you! 

A big shout-out to the event sponsor Nalam Foods USA made possible by community supporters Lalitha and Prabhuram as well as Priya Rathnam, the director of the Shrewsbury Public Library! 

Don’t forget to like and follow the Massachusetts Tamil Sangam Facebook page to stay updated for future events. Subscribe and like the Massachusetts Tamil Sangam YouTube page to not miss out on any updates! 

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