| Association of Indians in America AIA honors graduates, achievers |
| "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 an action -- |
| Into that heaven of freedom, my father let my country awake." -- from Gitanjali, by Rabindranath Tagore |
| The above was quoted on the certificates of each of this year's graduates who were honored by the Association of Indians in America on April 28 at Hilton Garden Inn West in Middleton. 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 they 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. The 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 [completing] your education." |
| While advising the graduates to "stay ambitious in your goals," Jha also reminded them of Bergen's words, "'Ambition is indeed a poor excuse for not enjoying life,'" and expressed hope that the graduates will enjoy life while pursuing a productive, successful career. |
| Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson started her keynote speech with a humorous anecdote. Long time ago, she said she was in India on vacation, and wearing a sari, she ordered beer in a restaurant. Being unfamiliar with the culture, Abrahamson wondered why the waiter refused to serve her beer and inquired. When she got the answer, she tried to convince the waiter that she isn't Indian but an American from New York. A compromise was reached so she was served beer in tea cups. When the laughter from the audience died down, Abrahamson congratulated the students, saying, "Your ability and hard work have brought you all here. Job well done. Congratulations." |
| Thereafter, she narrated part of her life that was relevant to the audience, and gave credit to her parents for what she has become. "I was the first person in the family to graduate in college," she said. "My parents were immigrants from Eastern Europe. My key role models were my parents. My parents taught me that the most important thing for me to do was get an education. My parents perceived that evil governments could take away anything from you, all your property, all your money, and maybe even your life. [But] they could not take away your mind. With an education, you have a much more satisfying life. My parents always thought -- and encouraged me that I could do anything I wanted to do. |
| "Im telling you about my background because it explains that we can all achieve. Each can succeed by working hard and we should live in the world where we work for others and make a difference." |
| In her usual soft, but powerful tone, the Chief Justice admonished the graduates to "be wiser, kinder, and more caring than we elders; ... give more, do more, and create more, and be happier; ... leave a better world for your children than the world we passed on to you." |
| In addition to the graduating students, AIA presented two lifetime achivement awards to this year's outstanding Indian American citizens: Dr. Paramjeet S. Chopra, for his exemplary contributions to the medical profession at UW Hospital and Clinics, his services to needy patients, and his work in Nicaragua (Read his story in the June 2006 issue of Asian Wisconzine and the online version at www.asianwisconzine.com) and Dr. Swaminathan Balachandran, for his numerous community work and professional accomplishments. Dr. Balachandran has organized highway cleaning activities for AIA since 2003, among his many other civic volunteer services. |
| Aruna Rajagopal of Spandhan School of Dance entertained with a bharatanatyam number, while Rajan Sheth emceed. |
| AIA graduates |
| Vijayan Prabhakaran: Ph.D., Computer Science -- fifth (and final) year Ph.D. student at the Computer Sciences Department of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he obatained his master's degree, as well. |
| MeenaliRungta: MS, Computer Science -- 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. |
| 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 BroanNuTone Manufacturing in Hartfor, WI. |
| 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 this month. |
| 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. |
| KarthikJayaraman: 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. |
| 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. |
| 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 2005, he has lived in and helped run the Diamond Way Buddhist Center of Whitewater. |
| Amaninderpal Ghotra: Bio-medical Engineering. His plans are to continue with his studies and get a Ph.D. in Bio-medical Engineering. |
| Payal Sharma: Verona High School -- She will be attending the nursing program at UW-Eay Claire. Payal appeared in three books published by the Pleasant Company. |
| SwathiDamodaran: 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. She loves Indian classical dance bharatanatyam and has performed at various locations, many for AIA. |
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| by Heidi M. Pascual |
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| (Above) Row 1 (l-r) Vijayan Prabhakaran, Dr. Swaminathan Balachandran, SC Chief Justice Abrahamson, Dr. Paramjeet Chopra, Payal Sharma; (Row 2, l-r) Pradheep K. Elango, Kathik Jayaraman, Aditi R. Ganesan, Ramya Padma Raman, Himani Apte, Swathi Damodaran; (Row 3, l-r) Sarita Jha, Amaninderpal Ghotra, and Gautam Singh. |
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| (Above and below) Dr. Swaminathan Balachandran and Dr. Paramjeet S. Chopra with Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson |
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| homepage May 31, 2006 Issue Archives |