After weeks of the depressing news about American Dreams falling apart over thousands of layoffs in the US tech sector, Indian Diaspora got to hear something good and positive. 13-year-old Natasha Perianayagam from New Jersey stepped into the elite club of Indian-origin prodigies, as one of the world’s brightest students. The Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) adjudged Natasha as one of the brightest students in the world for the second consecutive year.
Indian American Natasha Perianayagam, who hails from Chennai, made herself count among the world’s brightest students based on her brilliant performance in SAT, ACT, School and College Ability Tests that the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth factors in. CTY takes into account the performance of students in above-grade-level tests to evaluate their academic credentials and identify the most brilliant brains among them from around the world.
Reportedly, she earned the highest grades in the aforementioned merit tests, among as many as 15,300 students from 76 countries. Her first attempt at the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth test happened in 2021 when she was merely 11 and in Grade 5. Her scores in the verbal and quantitative sections matched the “90th percentile of advanced Grade 8 performance” then. As a result, she made it to CTY’s 2022 list of the world’s brightest students.
The CTY test is a litmus test to the students’ love of discovery and learning, and the knowledge they have gained so far at this young age. They will use this recognition to further their passions, enrich their experiences and achieve milestones in their respective communities and beyond, according to Dr Amy Shelton, CTY’s executive director.
“Natasha studies at Florence M Gaudineer Middle School, NJ and loves doodling as her favorite pastime. One of her interest is reading JRR Tolkein’s novels. Her distinction of being on the world’s brightest students list twice is an honor to the highly-skilled and highest-earning ethnic community that has given America the best of CEOs and scientists,” said Sourav Agarwal, the Editor of Travel Beats, a community portal for Indians in the US by IndianEagle.com.
The Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, a most renowned name in the field of education, identifies the most promising students and provides a genuine index to their academic potential. The alumni of this renowned organization in the field of education include Rhodes Scholars, MacArthur Fellows, and the founders of Facebook and Google. The origin of the Center for Talented Youth dates back to the late 70s when a seventh grader from Baltimore had finished all mathematical lessons. It prompted a professor of psychology from Johns Hopkins to design unique grade-based academic assessment programs for meritorious kids.
This story is part of our continued effort to give a shoutout to achievements of Young Indians in America. Travel Beats is a subsidiary of IndianEagle.com, a most trusted air-ticketing partner of Indians abroad. Indian Eagle has a proven track record of providing the best deals for cheap flights to India from USA even when international airfares are high.
