Medha Kirtane, TAC, High School, History

Facts:

Born and raised in New Jersey, Medha is the daughter of Indian immigrants to America, and self-proclaimed girl of the Northeast. She attended Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and later worked as the assistant director of the Williams College Multicultural Center. Medha lives with her brother, sister-in-law, and baby niece a half hour from Cambridge and she commutes each day to attend class and work at her school site.

A trained Indian classical dancer, Medha looks forward to bringing the arts, the backgrounds of her students, and the community into her classroom. "I love working with kids, and I find the classroom to be the ideal space for dismantling and understanding social constructions and their impact on our lives. Education is empowerment, and lessons learned by youngsters can aid them in becoming effective and responsible contributors to our society."

Inside Scoop:

It's important to become a teacher if you feel a passion for it. If this passion is in place, teaching teaches us so much about others as well as ourselves. A teacher becomes both a student and teacher, of the material being studied as well as the students. It is a means for progress by way of creating means for understanding one's self and the world.

"What is Harvard like? It's what you make of it. There are a ton of resources around, but you have to be proactive to make your time here personal. Because the institution is so large, it is easy to be swallowed up by the number of activities and number of students. Ask yourself "What are my priorities?" and see to it that you meet your needs. Know what you want in order to make your one year here as eye-opening as possible."