End of Fall Conference.
The full PD Soros cohort.
Showing posts with label PD Soros. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PD Soros. Show all posts
PD Soros Fall Conference wraps up
Sunday
The morning started with some of the fellows having breakfast with Damian Williams, the first black US Attorney in Manhattan, heading the Southern District of New York. It was followed by his super interesting at today's conference. It was such an interesting keynote.
Group photo as the 2022 class bid farewell and left with a box of Mithai (its Diwali tomorrow)
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Last Column
My LAST COLUMN for the Daily Cal
Full article: https://www.dailycal.org/2022/05/13/a-golden-bear-song/
I realized what defined my undergrad experience was not only recognizing some of these opportunities but that it was the support and encouragement at Berkeley that gave me the confidence to pursue them.
I never felt impostor syndrome at UC Berkeley. Rather it was whether I, as a disabled student, would even be allowed access to the opportunities college offers. ....
For much of my life, my disability has meant significant gatekeeping of opportunities. Would I be allowed to thrive here?
....
“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel,” said Socrates.
Most importantly, my UC Berkeley education kindled the Socratic flame, inspiring me to study what I am passionate about along with new kinds of experiences and knowledge. (Speaking of new experiences, I even got to model for the Cal Student Store. Who would have thought of “Model Hari”?)
“Life is full of change and uncertainty and that’s what makes it a great adventure,” Filippenko said at the lecture.
I am both nervous and excited about what’s ahead. As the Bhagavad Gita explains, change is the only constant in our lives, and one is better off focusing on the action (the sure) and not the results (the unsure). Inaction is not an option.
The Gita also points out that results do not solely depend on my actions. I hope the next stage of my educational journey will be one filled with kindness, compassion, patience and empathy from others and one of personal, endless curiosity and positive action so I can continue to learn and add those pebbles that widen the ripples in the pond of knowledge and change.
I got covered by Berkeley Grad Diversity
I got covered by Grad Diversity
Full article: https://grad.berkeley.edu/news/announcements/a-thirst-for-education-and-autism-advocacy/
“Though it was a sense of duty that initially drew me to participate in GiGS as a mentor, it has been my absolute privilege to know Hari and be a small support in his journey to graduate school. I am positive he will accomplish wonderful things at Vanderbilt and beyond.” Lindsey Burnside. Hari's GiGs mentor
...
Hari is very clear about what drives his passion for higher education. “A college degree and above is what gets you a seat at the table, where you get to be part of the conversion about who gets access to spaces, funding, and resources. If we want to see change, belonging, acceptance, and other solutions for autistics, we need to see more autistics in higher ed. And we need to see all profiles of autistics, including the most marginalized autistics, for this change to be meaningful.”But for Hari, just having a seat at the table is not enough. “I want to be able to redefine the table itself, whether it’s academically or in advocacy. A fair and inclusive world does not just have to be a myth. We need to work actively to make the possibility a reality. Everyone deserves the same opportunity of education, inclusion, and belonging.”
Daily Cal covers me
In an about turn, I'm being written about by someone else at the Daily Cal.
Daily Californian: UC Berkeley wins Soros Fellowship to pursue PhD.
Full article: https://www.dailycal.org/2022/04/25/uc-berkeley-senior-hari-srinivasan-wins-soros-fellowship-to-pursue-ph-d/
At Berkeley, Srinivasan has already been conducting undergraduate research in the area of autism as a Haas scholar, according to Haas Scholars program manager and advisor Leah Caroll. Caroll said Srinivasan has looked specifically at how those with autism process emotions differently from non-autistics. In doing so, he has broken down common stereotypes about those with the disability, she added.
“It’s interesting that his scholarship is in itself a form of activism,” Caroll said.
In addition to writing more than 50 articles for The Daily Californian, Srinivasan is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Psi Chi, leads a DeCal dedicated to educating peers about autism and serves as a national activist for policy reform surrounding disabilities, according to Caroll.
Caroll added that despite his commitments, Srinivasan goes out of his way to help his peers in the Haas Scholars program.
“He’s been extraordinarily generous with his time and expertise,” Caroll said. “He’s taught everyone about different ways of communicating.”
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https://flipboard.com/@thedailycal/news-0brl6vv8z/uc-berkeley-senior-hari-srinivasan-wins-soros-fellowship-to-pursue-ph-d/a-A5xuoZcdTBi5nARLAlHynw%3Aa%3A2444082641-b8f0e80a36%2Fdailycal.org
PD Soros in NYT announcement
Holding up a copy of the New York Times with the full page of the PD Soros Cohort.
Alphabetical order, so my pic on on the bottom row. 2022 has been an amazing year of good news for me.
Stoked to join the ranks of PD Soros Fellows
#redefinethetable #redefine_the_table #autism #disability
There are likely to be additional roadblocks to higher education when you are a new american and a disabled new american at that. Know that your life too has worth!! Instead of an unmapped path, think of it as a journey of discovery. The opportunity of higher education means not just the chance to get a seat at the table and make contributions to the table, but perhaps to redefine the table itself where you can be part of the change in who all get included in access to spaces and resources. Let's get in there and help redefine the table.
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Disabled or not, ALL of us new Americans deserve to be, and get to be part of the possibility and opportunity that is America.image 4
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Beyond the color of your skin, race, ethnicity and religion, there also exists a range of (dis)ability in New Americans, who face not just the challenges of assimilating themselves in a new country while maintaining their cultural identity, but also navigating unfamiliar systems around disability. It is triple stigma for not just the disabled new american, but families too, who are excluded by association (“courtesy stigma”), not just from the mainstream community but from their own immigrant community as well. We need not just understanding but also importantly, belonging for all.
Disabled or not, ALL of us new Americans deserve to be, and get to be part of the possibility and opportunity that is America.image 4
image 4
Beyond the color of your skin, race, ethnicity and religion, there also exists a range of (dis)ability in New Americans, who face not just the challenges of assimilating themselves in a new country while maintaining their cultural identity, but also navigating unfamiliar systems around disability. It is triple stigma for not just the disabled new american, but families too, who are excluded by association (“courtesy stigma”), not just from the mainstream community but from their own immigrant community as well. We need not just understanding but also importantly, belonging for all.
PD Soros Fellow at Vanderbilt PhD Neuroscience
Can a person feel stunned+super excited AND nervous+disoriented all at the same time.
It's a veritable sea of emotions swirling inside me.
The news is rather surreal as I am in the final weeks of undergrad at Berkeley.
Two pieces of news actually.
I’m heading to a PhD Neuroscience at Vanderbilt in fall 2022.
# neuroscience #vanderbilt #PhD #Berkeley #Psychology
&
I join the prestigious ranks of the PD Soros Fellows, 2022.
@PDSoros
Who would have imagined this back in 7th grade middle school - special ed classroom where they still were teaching how to spell basic words like c-a-t. The school district had no intention of allowing me anywhere close to any sort of mainstream curriculum or a mainstream classroom. Their nod to mainstreaming was my being allowed to exist in the same school playground with non disabled kids at recess and lunch. Somehow we were expected to pick up skills, perhaps by osmosis, in that crazy noisy environment of screaming running kids
I lost count of the number of special ed classrooms I’ve been moved around during my elementary and middle school years - tossed from one unwilling special ed teacher to another. Imagine the psychological trauma inflicted on a very young child when educators, the ones who are supposed to support and nurture you, themselves don’t want you. Children don't get to attend their IEP meetings, but sometimes these meetings are held in the classroom after school with a classroom aide babysitting me at one end. I remember one such meeting with the special ed teacher loudly insisting I be moved out of her classroom. In kindergarten alone, I was moved 4 classrooms.
I also remember being in this classroom for sometime in between which was simply called Room 20 at Dilworth Elementary, which was a placeholder for all the special ed kids the district didn’t know what to do with. So the day was mostly walks, story time, circle time - like kindergarten on Groundhog Day repeat day after day, even at age 10. Anyway, by middle school I had been moved to a segregated special ed only school where I never got even that glimpse of any non disabled peers.
For much of my schooling years, education was like the candy in the candy store with me staring longingly at it through the store window.
It’s surreal, It’s like I’m now making up for all those years and years and years of sheer longing for education, years and years and years of missed education with compounded interest thrown in. It’s the sheer contrast of Room 20 to Berkeley.
My 7th grade special ed did not lead to a high school diploma let alone college. Today I stand on the cusp of a PhD program. Just imagine me in a doctoral program!
More than anything, it was really really really really really really really (can I add a few more "really's") a balm to the soul to hear PhD programs say they “wanted me” and that I was an unanimous selection by the departments.
(I think back on all the special education teachers who did not want me in their classrooms).
The PD Soros fellowship is this extra unexpected icing, a validation - that my life too has worth and I too can be a contributing member of society. That I am thought to be amongst those, “poised to make significant contributions to U.S. society, culture, or their academic field.” That I too can rank amongst the best of the best.
The PD Soros fellowship is this extra unexpected icing, a validation - that my life too has worth and I too can be a contributing member of society. That I am thought to be amongst those, “poised to make significant contributions to U.S. society, culture, or their academic field.” That I too can rank amongst the best of the best.
Getting my picture in the New York Times, is kinda cool too.
The road ahead is still fraught with uncertainties and transitions and there will be many things to navigate and trouble shoot in the next few years of grad school. It is going to be a harder journey given all challenges around my motor apraxia, communication/ behavioral /sensory challenges & anxiety. Fingers crossed for continued patience and understanding from others around me.
Today is a day to celebrate, to stop, admire and smell the roses of today. I don't think I am that flexible to actually reach my back so I will give myself that imaginary pat on the back and say,
PD Soros Fellow @ Vanderbilt PhD Neuroscience from fall. Way to Go Hari!!
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News Coverage of Award (link)
Social Media
So nice of Dr Josh Gordon (NIMH Director) to announce news of Vanderbilt and PD Soros at the beginning of the IACC meeting.
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I should frame this tweet as inspiration and aspiration.
Words of praise from the legendary Judy Heumann.
Thank you Judy for your words of praise. We all learn from you and strive to add those additional tiny pebbles that contribute to widening the ripples in the pond of change.
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Tweet from Prof Allison Harvey, who taught my Treatment of Mental Illness class
I was a research assistant in her Golden Bear Mood and Sleep clinic for 2 semesters.
Thank you Prof Harvey for your invaluable advice, support and encouragement during the grad school application process.
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I made it the cover of Berkeley News
Made it to page 5 of the New York Times
Making the cover of Berkeley News
#redefine_the_table
I made it to the cover of Berkeley News
“Hari has embraced his Berkeley experience to the very fullest in the classroom, research laboratory, on campus and more broadly,” said UC Berkeley psychology chair Serena Chen. “Along the way, he has touched so many people — fellow students, staff and faculty alike — and has achieved so much against formidable odds, to boot.”
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