Indira Rayala has lived in two worlds.
Born in India, the 18-year-old expresses her heritage through dance. Raised here, she has made the most of her school years.
With a 3.95 grade point average, Indira graduated Saturday from the Everett district’s Jackson High School. In August, she’ll enter another world — college. She’ll attend Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore with plans for a medical career.
“My sister is eager to take over my room,” said Indira, whose only sibling is in middle school.
Her family came from Andhra Pradesh, a state on India’s southeast coast, when Indira was 2. Her father’s career as a computer engineer brought them to Washington. They lived first in Bellevue and later moved to the Bothell area.
She attended Cedar Wood Elementary School and Heatherwood Middle School. At Jackson, her passion for science blossomed. When a program at school included seeing lung specimens damaged by smoking, “other people were grossed out,” she said. “I was always fascinated by science and medicine.”
She founded and was president of Jackson’s Research Club. As a junior, Indira sought help from scientists in the Greenberg Lab at the University of Washington School of Medicine’s microbiology department. Her research topic was quorum sensing, or intercellular communication. “I looked at bacteria, how they start infecting people,” she said.
“She’s fearless,” said Jackson teacher Andy Sevald. Indira was in his AP economics and AP physics classes. He helped with her research, stressing the idea that for scientists, being wrong can be as helpful as being right.
Indira served on the Mill Creek Youth Advisory Board and played three seasons on Jackson’s tennis team. She also kept busy at Jackson with Project Green, which established a composting system at school, and Literacy for Love, a club that promotes reading. She grew up hooked on Harry Potter books.
She’s interested in surgery or pediatrics, and may work someday with a nonprofit in India. “There are so many beautiful aspects to India,” said Indira, who has visited family there often.
A scientist, she also loves the arts. She has performed at Indian cultural events. “I’ve been doing classical Indian dance since I was 8, and I do Bollywood dancing,” she said.
With high school behind her, she has advice for other students.
“Try a lot of new things. Don’t let other people’s opinions get you down. And dream big,” Indira said.
Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.
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