Fellow Friday: Aditi Adhikari

Fellow Friday: Aditi Adhikari, JIF '14

Hometown: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

High School: Cranbrook Kingswood Schools

Intended Major: Neuroscience and Business 

Why did you decide to become a Fellow?

I really love what the Joyce Ivy Foundation does, and I wanted to be a part of it! I’ve always been a big dreamer (when I was little, I wanted to be an astronaut, a doctor, a painter, a novelist, a dancer, and a cook. All at the same time. I’m not kidding. I even planned out exactly how I would do it), and this foundation definitely got me to start thinking about how it’s in my power to make my dreams come true. I learned that it isn’t too far-fetched to imagine myself at an Ivy League school, that I can make and keep friends easily if I really want to, and that my desire to be independent isn’t so crazy after all. Realizing all that was an amazing feeling for me, and I want others to learn that their dreams are attainable too! And that’s why I decided to become a fellow: it seemed like the most direct path to making that happen for girls just like me all across the Midwest.

What is your favorite memory from your summer experience?

While at Brown, I went to Providence’s Waterfire (where they light up these torch bowls around the river in a little ceremony and it looks really cool), made friends, explored campus, tie-dyed shirts with the girls on my dorm floor, played capture the flag, tried surfing at Newport (that didn’t work), and celebrated everything at Ben and Jerry’s, but by far the most exciting experience was holding a REAL HUMAN BRAIN in my class. I took Brain Basics: From Biology to Behavior for three weeks, and our professors brought in preserved brains and let us hold them in our (gloved) hands! We got to look at several different sections and cuts of the brain, and compare a human brain to a mouse brain. We even visited a real neuroscience lab and saw how experiments were set up. At the end of the course, I did a research presentation on synesthesia, which, despite being a lot of work, was actually very rewarding to learn about and fun to present to my class. A lot of the social aspects of the trip were fantastic, but getting a peek at how real science works and being able to connect with that was definitely the best part.

Why does the Joyce Ivy Foundation rock?

Seriously, working with Joyce Ivy is like joining a team of highly qualified Superwomen in disguise. Everybody here is amazing: they’re kind, helpful, smart, forgiving, funny, nerdy (in the best way possible), unapologetically unique, and crazy fast at answering emails! I love watching our plans come together—whether it’s the blog posts or the circle calls—because you can actually feel the excitement, camaraderie, and sense of achievement in the air. It’s really an incredible feeling, and I’m amazed that I’m a part of this community. This is a place where I feel like I can be myself and reach out to anyone if I need help with things like college or a job. Nowhere else have I encountered such a devoted and diverse groups of women. 

How did JIF affect where you are today?

Like I said before, the Joyce Ivy Foundation opened the door to my dreams. As we grow up, I think we often believe we’re incapable of doing what we want because we keep comparing ourselves unfavorably to other people. Girls especially do that a lot, and I really think it’s a shame that some girls give up, perhaps involuntarily, on the things they want. Joyce Ivy helps with that, or at least it did with me, by providing that reminder and confidence boost that you ARE amazing, and you ARE capable, and you CAN do whatever you want if only you open your eyes and keep setting your goals high. So I’d say Joyce Ivy affected me by giving me back a kindergartner's point of view of the world: The world is completely open to you, and you can be anything you want at all. All it takes is hard work, big dreams, and a community to help and support you along the way.