| Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free; Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls; Where the words come out from the depth of truth; Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection; Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit; There the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action- Into that heaven of freedom, my father let my country awake. -- from Gitanjali, by Rabindranath Tagore The above was quoted on the certificate of each of this year'eton. Not only were the graduates honored but their parents were, as well. AIA President Sarita Jha, in congratulating the graduates, recognized the hard work that the graduates put into their studies, and went further to advise them. "This is not the time to rest on the laurels of your achievements," she said. "The real world awaits you. This big step is only one if you choose to make it so. Wherever you are in life, be confident that your education has prepared you well for the real world. All you have to do is not squander the hard work put in thus far, and continue striving towards success as you did in your education." Wisconsin State Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson inspired the honorees and the audience through her brief but powerful words of wisdom. She recalled the immigrant experience of her parents and her struggle to reach what she has become today. Two lifetime achievement awards were handed out for humanitarian and community services. Dr. Paramjeet Chopra was recognized for his exemplary contributions to the medical profession at UW Hospital and Clinics, his services to needy patients, and his work in Nicaragua, while Dr. Swaminathan Balachandran was recognized for his numerous community work and professional accomplishments. Dr. Balachandran has organized highway cleaning activities for AIA since 2003, among other civic volunteer services. Aruna Rajagopal of Spandhan School of Dance entertained with a bharatanatyam number, while Rajan Sheth emceed. The student honorees: 1) Vijayan Prabhakaran: Ph.D., Computer Science -- fifth (and final) year PhD student at the Computer Sciences Department of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he obtained his master';s degree as well. 2) Meenali Rungta: MS, Computer Science -- a UW Master's student of Computer Science in 2004. She obtained her B.E (Honors.) degree in the same field from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, India. Will join Google as a Software Engineer in June 2006. She likes dancing. 3) Ramya Raman: BBA, Marketing and Management -- She will graduate this December with a BBA in Marketing and Management. This summer, she will be working as a marketing intern at Broan-NuTone Manufacturing in Hartford, WI. 4) Aditi Ganesan: MS, Electrical and Computer Engineering -- Hailed from Chennai, Aditi is a graduate student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UW-Madison. Her academic interests include, but not limited to, Hardware Design. She just graduated last May 2006. 5) Himani Apte: MS, Computer Science -- She is graduating with a master's degree in computer science. In the past two years, Himani has been involved in research on scientific workflow management systems as part of the "Condor" project. She was selected for the 2005 Google Anita Borg memorial scholarship for women in computer science and technology. 6) Karthik Jayaraman: MS, Computer Science -- Born and brought up in Coimbatore, he completed his undergraduate studies from BITS Pilani, India as a gold medalist. He has a wide variety of passions including Origami, solving crossword puzzles, cooking, ballroom dancing and reading. 7) Pradheep Elango: MS, Computer Science -- A native of Bangalore, he joined BITS, Pilani for his undergraduate studies and passed with distinction in Computer Science. His interests include playing tennis, table tennis and chess. 8) Gautam Singh: BA, Journalism-- Graduating from UW-Whitewater; is currently working as the copy editor and news reporter for the UW-Whitewater school newspaper, Royal Purple. He has also previously served as the Sports Editor for the MATC-Madison newspaper, the Clarion, which won several awards. Since August of 2005, he has lived in and helped run the Diamond Way Buddhist Center of Whitewater. 9) Amaninderpal Ghotra: Bio-medical Engineering. His plans are to continue with his studies and get a Ph.D. in Bio-medical Engineering 10) Payal Sharma: Verona High school -- She will be attending the nursing program at UW Eau Claire. Payal appeared in three books published by the Pleasant Company. 11) Swathi Damodaran: Madison Memorial High School -- Swathi plans to attend UW Madison and study political science and neurobiology. She hopes to work in the Public Health field. Loves Indian classical dance Bharathnatyam, and has performed at various locations, many for AIA. |
| Association of Indians in America honors graduates and achievers by Heidi M. Pascual |
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| (From top right) Supreme Court Justice Shirley Abrahamson; Shiv and Kumud Gupta; Aruna Rajagopal; Rajan Seth; (l-r) Swathi Damodaran, Justice Abrahamson, and Sarita Jha. |
| [Group (l-r)] R1-Vijayan Prabhakaran, Dr. Swaminathan Balachandran, SC Justice, Dr. Chopra, Payal Sharma; R2-Pradheep K. Elango, Kathik Jayaraman, Aditi R. Ganesan, Ramya Padma Raman, Himani Apte, Swathi Damodaran; R3 Sarita Jha, Amaninderpal Ghotra, Gautam Singh. |
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