My name is Aditya Hande and I am a senior at the Brooks School in North Andover. Like most kids around me, I am lucky to be raised by doting parents who present me with endless enriching opportunities in terms of my education, entertainment, and life experiences. Just this past summer vacation, I travelled with my family to Italy; did a Java programming course to help prepare for college and my dad’s car is feeling more like mine at this point now that I am driving! 

Yes, I am a privileged kid for sure, but I have tried to keep my feet firmly on the ground and my head over my shoulders. One way I do this is through community service. Over the years, I have served in various ways – Playing Bingo at the Senior center or making blankets for the homeless as part of the Youth group of the Indian Association of Merrimack Valley (IAMV) or playing Piano with a friend at the senior center over the holidays or preparing meals and delivering them to the Lazarus house on my birthday. More recently, I have been able to help kids with their homework at the Boys and Girls club at Lawrence as part of my after-school activity and on a personal front, my friend and I collected food supplies and jackets and contributed to the We Care food pantry in Salem NH.  

Another unique opportunity for service was by shadowing my mother and helping in the early events associated with the temple she co-founded – New England Shri Raghavendra Swami temple. As my mother, alongside other passionate volunteers, tried to set up this fledgling community, I learned lessons in servant leadership and the power of collaboration and teamwork. I helped with the registration desks and helped serve food and water or make prasadam boxes.   

It seemed odd to let this summer go by without any community service activity. So, my mom reached out to a few people to scout for opportunities, and we learned about EKAL and the noble mission of bringing education to kids in the remote villages of India through Parveen Minocha aunty. I couldn’t believe that just a dollar a day could help sponsor a village school for a year! I probably spend more than a dollar a day on snacks and drinks at my school cafeteria and it was a sobering thought that other kids lived such different lives than me. As much as I wished to do something special to help raise funds for this cause, it was a busy summer as a rising senior - SAT prep, college visits, applications, and summer work from school - all clamored for my time and I simply could not fit one more thing in my schedule.  

However, one thing I had already planned for my summer was to get a job and work at least for a month or two. Thanks to Nehal aunty and Shreya Rangarayan, I landed my first ever job at the North Andover Subway. They introduced me to the team and the tasks with gentle guidance and patience. As I fumbled through basic tasks, my coworkers from very different backgrounds than my own helped me reach competency. Through all that they were juggling in their lives, they still found time to have a laugh with me, teach me how to hold the knife correctly, and make me feel comfortable. In turn, I would help when their language barriers got in the way with customers. I learned that everyone has something to teach me and that there is honor in getting my hands dirty. Some of my coworkers were students or aspiring to be students and they were putting in many more hours than me just to be able to afford their education. This was yet another sobering reminder for me about not taking my own education for granted and just how lucky I was to be able to be in an elite learning community like Brooks and to be able to consider most colleges and focus on the programs and the fit and just ensure I presented my most worthy self to them.  

When I drove back home after I finished my last shift at Subway, the music faded into the background and my reflections took over. I arrived home with a decision. I told my parents that I would like to use my earnings from my first job to sponsor education for kids in some of those villages that I had seen in the virtual tour I attended through EKAL. My wages only allow me to sponsor two schools, but it represents my lifetime earnings, and I couldn’t be happier that my first earnings were put to meaningful use. I feel proud that I made sandwiches, dealt with rude customers, swept floors, and cleaned dishes to make every dollar that provides education to the little kids in 2 remote villages of India. For a kid that has never felt the need to have money in his pocket because his every need has been taken care of, this was the best possible way to learn the value of money. 

I hope to stay grounded as I move into the next stage of my life and experience even more new things in college. I will keep my eyes open for more opportunities with EKAL and other channels, especially around children and education as this is the best way to also impact all other problems that arise if this fundamental aspect is neglected.  

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