CHS STUDENT OF THE MONTH By Joe Hawrylko
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s she prepares to head off to college, CHS Student of the Month Jessica Kunadia is confident that she’ll enter the next phase of her life armed with plenty of experience. “I tried to dabble in a little bit of everything,” she said. “I love science and math just as much as I love humanities.” Kunadia is diverse in her interests. She challenges herself academically in a variety of subjects. She’s a competitive dancer, having trained since age 4. She also volunteers and is involved with the CHS tennis team, where she is a co-captain. “I started in classical and in the 7th grade I joined RA Dance Academy and began performing,” she recalled. The Academy specializes in Indian performance, and top dancers were featured in the 86th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. “It’s influenced by Bollywood and it’s fused with a lot of other styles,” said Kunadia, who plans to travel to India for the first time in nearly half a decade this summer. “We had our big finale in front of Herald Square.”
Jessica Kunadia
Kunadia said she plans to continue dancing while in college, but it will take a back seat to academics. The Student of the Month has lofty expectations she’s set for herself. She intends to study biology at school, with the intention of one day entering the medical field. Kunadia has applied to Columbia, Princeton, UPenn, and Boston College. She hopes her diverse body of work and stellar grades (she’s currently ranked third in the class) have her Ivy bound. Kunadia said that the friendly rivalry she has with her peers at CHS has spurred her to be a better student and individual.
“[The Top 10 students], we’re all friends. It’s a healthy competition,” she said. “My parents always encourage me too,” Kunadia continued. “That kind of stuff is important, but you can’t get anywhere if you’re not self motivated too. But when you find people with the same goals and ambitions, it’s easy to challenge each other to do better. “The ER doctors are really nice,” she said. “They’d sometimes let me observe patients. It’s a good way to get into the field.” Kunadia was also selected to attent the National Youth Forum on Medicine in 2010, which was held in Boston. The two week program increased her interest in the field. In a year when most of her peers lighten the workload up, she’s taking AP biology, chemistry, calculus and English. Kunadia is also involved with the Botany Club, Asian Club and the Knights of Pythagoris, and she is a volunteer tutor. Kunadia is also a member of the National Honor Society. “I want to keep myself challenged,” she said of the remainder of her senior year in CHS. “I’m just trying to prepare myself for college.”
March 2011 • Clifton Merchant
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