Hi, my name is Hari Koornala, and I am currently a junior at the Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science. Before MAMS, I studied at Shrewsbury High School , a school with 10 times the population of Mass Academy.
Sixteen years ago, I was born in Hyderabad, India, and thought I was living the perfect life. When I was 9 years old, I was informed that my family and I were moving to the United States of America, a place filled with people that I didn’t know. During the process of moving here, I was always on the verge of asking my parents not to go, but there was a little bit of curiosity in me that prevented me from asking. I am glad that I agreed with the decision to come here because the opportunities that I utilized here might not have been possible in India.
Some of my interests include playing the violin, singing Carnatic
music, and math (yes, it’s a hobby). Carnatic music is a type of
Indian classical music that is prevalent in southern India. This style
of music has been around since centuries ago and continues to be a
part of South Indian culture. Carnatic music is a very difficult art
as there are a lot of quarter tones (minute pitch differences) and
gamakas (specific variations to slide from one note to another).
I have been playing the violin for 5 years, along with some of my
friends at Shrewsbury High School. I am currently in the WPI
philharmonic orchestra and would like to join WYSO (Worcester Youth
Symphony Orchestra) or NEC (New England Conservatory). Although I love
playing the violin now, it wasn’t always like that. I was on the verge
of quitting the instrument in 6th grade, but my violin teacher really
wanted me to continue. In 7th grade, I was introduced to more complex
and engaging music, and I was glad I didn’t quit playing the violin.
Another one of my favorite things to do is volunteer for kids. I’ve been tutoring math to students from 5th grade all the way to high school seniors. I tutor on an online platform called schoolhouse.world. The platform was created by the founder of Khan Academy, Sal Khan. I frequently help out on the live help sessions where anyone from anywhere can ask questions by joining a Zoom call.
Additionally, I also participated in teaching STEM lessons to students in Abby Kelly Charter Public School. There, I taught a few lessons on birds and energy. This was a great experience as the students were very interested in learning these topics and kept asking questions. This experiece also gave me insight into how much teachers have to prepare for each lesson and made me appreciate my teachers even more.
Over the summer, I plan to volunteer for the Shrewsbury Public School's summer enrichment programs. This program gives middle schoolers access to learning real life skills such as CAD, cooking, coding, painting and many more.
My family includes my dad, my mom, my nine-year-old sister, and me. Every summer, either my maternal grandparents or my paternal grandmother come to visit us for 5 months from India. Those are my most favorite times of the year because we travel a lot, and it's always chaotic to have so many people around..
