Ananya Raghuram is an undergraduate in Biology, Neuroscience and Psychology at New York University. She reflects that the importance of compassion, respect, and care for one another are values that she still stands by today and that she keeps these principles in mind throughout both her academic and personal pursuits. “These are important because we have to respect how one another’s minds learn and evolve,” she reasons.

“My teachers in both Year 5 and 6, instilled a passion for reading in our classes and taught us conventions of good narrative writing and self-editing. The one thing that stood out to me was how our peers were able to communicate and connect with one another. We were always there for each other. They also taught us to be respectful and caring to one another and to be role models for the younger students so that they could carry those values with them through life,” Ananya adds. 

“Empathy, care, and respect are three fundamental values that I stand by in this field of study. In my past internship experiences, including working with the National Kidney Foundation and Duke-NUS, I found that having these values helped me understand how the human mind works in relation to stress, life’s circumstances, and social situations, which can affect one’s behaviour,” she discloses. “These soft skills have allowed me to develop a growth mindset in my field of study, allowing me to connect more with the researchers, professionals and patients whom I interact with.”