Ishwari DasGupta '17 Recruiting Profile

Hello, and thank you for viewing my profile. Currently, I’m a senior at Vasant Valley School, New Delhi. I’m extremely passionate about Athletics and it’s been the only constant source of happiness in my life, in all honesty. 

I ran my first race when I was in grade 3. It’s a funny story actually. Both my best friends had made it to the finals in our school Athletic Meet. I felt extremely left out, and this led me to participate in the one open race remaining. I left my house that day telling my mom that I would be back with a gold medal. She just laughed and told me not to worry if I didn’t. Within the next few hours, I had my very first gold medal in hand. I still remember running to the school office and calling my mom to give her the news! 

My parents have always supported my passion and encouraged me to do my best. Since class 9 I’ve been training under Senior National Coach, Jaipal Singh in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium which is over an hour and a half away from home. My grades suffered hugely at times, especially towards the end of the year due to huge time constraints! But giving Athletics up was just not an option I ever even considered!

Working hard has never been a problem for me and I'm extremely ambitious in nature. I can handle defeat and failure pretty well and believe it only helps me to become better and strive even harder and is extremely important for personal growth. I believe in standing up for the right and have extremely strong values that I stick to. I've been Class President for 2 consecutive years ( Grade 10 and 11 ) simply because I love helping others and love leadership and responsibility. Looking at things and issues from different perspectives is something I've imbibed over the years and it has helped me immensely in strengthening bonds and understanding people. 

The kind of talent our country has is unfathomable. But, the lack of exposure, facilities and support from both academic institutions and the government is extremely upsetting. I too have faced huge issues in this area which is why I sincerely hope to pursue my undergraduate studies in the United States and compete at a Division 1 level where both my academic and Athletic interests are met and I'm able to balance both. I pursued Sports far beyond what my school offered or even supported

The other thing I’ve been extremely passionate about, is the campaign I started 2.5 years ago: ‘Hiya’ (meaning 'heart' in Sanskrit) - a social engagement platform working on Empowerment of Women and Youth.  Along with some of my classmates, I’ve visited schools, tied up with NGOs such as the Sunnay and Bagiya Foundations, where we talk about gender roles, sanitation, respect for others, the concept of “good touch and bad touch”etc. through interactive mediums, videos and movies. This was my way of giving back to society! I hope we’re able to give rise to a newfound generation of Indian youth that respects women and stands up for the wrong!  

I believe that an education must not be restricted to just books and that an individual’s intelligence is not just based on grades! A holistic education is something I wish to achieve that is enabled through external learning, research and observation, and no better place to do so than the U.S.