"Akka, I have a telescope at my house. Can you help me assemble it?"
One girl asked me on my visit to Shrishti Vidyashram school, Vellore. These young kids from a small town in India had a zeal to learn like none I have ever seen. With the lack of resources and education, they take a step further from their peers in order to quench their thirsts. At a young age of 12, when most of us think about basic algebra and struggle with it, these kids were already asking questions about quantum mechanics. Although, The one thing that they are blessed with is an amazingly beautiful night sky which probably plays a very significant role in their budding curiosity. It gives me extreme joy to look at young minds like these and know for a fact that they would play important roles in shaping the future, in leading scientific innovations.
Growing up in a small town which is onerous to spot on the map of India, in an era without the internet, I often found myself in a bewildered state, I had questions no one could give me answers to, I read about topics, no one cared about. As a result, when I became an adult, I felt a sense of responsibility towards contributing to society with whatever little I knew. In the first year of my college, I joined the SEDS outreach initiative, it was a place where people talked about ideas, I got in touch with brilliant teachers with a vision! Once a month, we would go to schools in Vellore to teach students about Space. From Rocket science to Astrophysics, we would go and talk about numerous topics. The kids I met along these sessions were extremely eager to learn about space. They would learn fast and ask questions until they become well acquainted with the topics.
Amidst multivariable calculus and mechanics of machines, we somehow start living this mundane life where we stop smiling and the kid in us gets lost somewhere. Being with these kids, kept me young, kept my dreams alive. One of my seniors once said "you are always smiling don't let this fade in these four years" and If I have been happy throughout these three years with the ups and downs in my career, it's because of what these kids have taught me. They are always eager, always enthusiastic, always smiling. These kids talked about interesting ideas and innovation, about solar sails, about robotics, and about Elon Musk. When I told them about Saturn V and built a balloon rocket to demonstrate them the third law of motion, the experience was galvanizing and you could have easily warranted it by looking in their eyes. I started working harder on my lessons and activities to make them more intriguing and what kept me going was their curiosity to learn.
I still remember when in 9th grade I tried to work on NASA's Ames Space Settlement Design Competition and couldn't finish my project because of the lack of internet and proper guidance. Although I did end up winning another variant of the same competition in 11th grade and fulfilled my dream of visiting NASA. Along the way, I mentored one team from one of these schools to take part in the Indian Space Settlement Design Competition and they won at India level under the invited team category and that gave me an immense joy that cannot be depicted in words. I was also fortunate to get an opportunity to mentor students from Sunbeam school, Vellore for their LEGO robotics competition, and they ended up winning in Hyderabad in 2018.
These students are so full of spirit, it is inspiring! I often get awestruck by the way kids in my country are utilizing the power of the internet, one kid told me that he is learning to code from Coursera. How inspiring is that at such a rudimentary stage in their lives they are working exceptionally! I just hope the best for these kids and hope to see them shaping the future of space science and robotics. I have been a part of the SEDS outreach initiative for more than two years now and it has been a bliss. In this world where most things and memories are ephemeral, when I turn 70 while reminiscing over my college days, these are the times I will remember the most, teaching kids and learning from them.