Last Lecture

As a graduating senior I got to attend a college tradition, a very motivational, Last Lecture by Astrophysics professor, Alexei Filipenko of the exploding supernova and black holes fame. Berkeley has all these amazing faculty who are just so interesting and engaging to listen to. You are just swept away when listening to them. For instance, when Prof Filippenko explains hawking radiation in class, he comes dressed as a black hole, and scatters shiny candy around class. And of course his t-shirt says, Dark Energy is the new black.

It was a lovely last lecture that led us through his personal journey, and his work, which was quite incredible to hear as well as motivational. He really focused on how how endless curiosity led him to where he is today.

The late Carl Sagan had said there were three important characteristics we needed, kindness, kindness and kindness. Professor Filippenko added empathy and curiosity to that list.

Oh, and the picture on the bottom is a quote from Socrates which says Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel. I think back to what Swami says about character being the end of education.

Thesis Submission

My year long research, my undergrad Honors capstone research as a Haas Scholar, was finally submitted this morning. 

All 66 pages of it.....

This is what the cover page looks like. 

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

Media Mention

Media Mention

 

Departmental Citation

An honor. Thank you Professor Dacher Keltner for nominating me.

More than anything, it is super humbling to be recognized by educators, who actually help enable my success through their support and empathy.

The Departmental Citation Award was initiated in 1955 by the Committee on Prizes to recognize distinguished undergraduate work in each department. The Departmental Citation is awarded to the top undergraduate in the Psychology Department based on all aspects of academic life including: research, coursework, writing, and service to the university.

Campus Lockdown

https://www.dailycal.org/2022/04/21/uc-berkeley-students-advised-to-shelter-in-place-in-person-services-canceled-following-credible-campuswide-threat/

https://abc7news.com/amp/uc-berkeley-shelter-in-place-cal-active-shooter-threat-emergency-near-campus-police/11776955/?fbclid=IwAR1xvGohp9m7gfY6_KA-EBCMc0FjQvhK4HbFkgeJ-y41EoAtQLdfXo6DrgI

https://patch.com/california/berkeley/uc-berkeley-under-shelter-orders-amid-unspecified-emergency-cops?utm_source=alert-breakingnews&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=alert

UPDATE: Shelter orders have been lifted at UC Berkeley, campus police announced in a 1:41 p.m. alert.

Authorities were seeking a person who "may want to harm specific individual," campus police said in an earlier alert. It is not clear whether the person was located or whether anyone was taken into custody in connection with the disturbance.

"The shelter in place has been lifted," the alert said. "Please leave the campus in a safe and orderly way via the closest route available. UCPD has determined based upon its investigation that it is appropriate to end the shelter in place. Buildings will remain locked."

UPDATE: The person at the center of incident at UC Berkeley that triggered campus-wide shelter orders was heard on the UC Police Department scanner, UC Berkeley's student newspaper reports.

UC Berkeley has been under lockdown all day Thursday due to an unspecified emergency, campus police said.

Police said they're seeking someone who "may want to harm specific individual."

The Daily Californian reports that the person has barricaded themself at the Cesar E. Chavez Student Center's room 501, and that the person was heard on a UCPD scanner claiming that "I am the reason why this is all happening!"

UPDATE: Berkeleyside's Ally Markovich reported seeing three helicopters flying overhead in a 10:54 a.m. tweet.

A KRON report updated at 10:52 a.m. describes a chaotic scene on campus in which students are still roaming the campus amid admonitions of officers to go inside.

UPDATE: The campus-wide warning came through on cell phones just as students were heading into their morning classes, prompting hundreds to turn around and run back to their dorms. Students reported huddling down in their dorm rooms while trying to find out if a shooting had occurred or if a shooter was on campus.

UPDATE: An administrator texted the UC Berkeley community advising that the threat is related to a disgruntled student recently suspended for threatening behavior.

"The Warnme that just went out is relative to an emerging active shooter threat situation related to a student who has been placed on interim suspension for threatening behavior. Please encourage people to follow the shelter in place. We will be shutting all the buildings," Assistant Executive Vice Chancellor Andrea Lambert said.

Update: UC Police at 10:18 a.m. issued an alert that said "there is NOT an active shooter on campus" after rumors floating on social media suggested that was the case.

UC police said: "There is NOT an active shooter on campus. Police are actively looking for a person who may want to harm specific individuals. Please continue to shelter in place at this time. Stay tuned to Twitter for updates."

Countdown to Commencement

 

The history of Cal Commencement: https://commencement.berkeley.edu/history/

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

image 2
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.

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

https://www.pdsoros.org/meet-the-fellows/hari-srinivasan

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. 

I am incredibly amazed at what quality education can look like at UC Berkeley. The experience gels perfectly with my inherent curiosity and thirst for knowledge; I am continually reflecting on what is taught in my classes and on its multidisciplinary applications. Berkeley is giving me an amazing experience academically with 4.0 GPA, Phi Beta Kappa, Psi Chi, my own research, research labs and also other opportunities like writing for the Daily Cal and teaching an Autism Class. (And yes, it ok to brag some, at times like this)

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.

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

Forbes Article by Ann Kirschner

I was spotlighted in a Forbes Article.  

https://www.forbes.com/sites/annkirschner/2022/04/13/hows-that-american-dream-working-out-a-tale-of-passports-and-heroes/?sh=755ec06bd7f7

Making the cover of Berkeley News

#redefine_the_table

I made it to the cover of Berkeley News

https://news.berkeley.edu/2022/04/14/minimally-speaking-autistic-student-wins-soros-fellowship-for-ph-d/

“Hari is a transcendent human being, beyond words in his talents, intellect, kindness, understanding and what he will do, and is doing, for our world,” said Keltner, a leading scholar in the science of emotions.


“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.”