As the class of 2025 nears its graduation, it is essential to honor the senior class’s most hardworking and high-achieving members. No matter what, it takes courage to make it through high school, but it takes time and incredible dedication to stand out among your fellow students. Anna Mohanty is possibly the first name that comes to mind when highlighting the current senior class. She has taken every opportunity she could and challenged herself in every way possible throughout her education. Her work deserves to be recognized, and she is an academic inspiration to her classmates.
Mohanty began her freshman year unsure of herself. She did not know many people as an International Baccalaureate (IB) transfer from another high school district.Coming out of middle school post-pandemic, this was even more daunting. She recalls questioning who she was and who she wanted to be. She explained her inability to separate her goals from what was expected of her.
“I think the word ‘independence’ nails [my high school experience] down well because… like developing your own sense of individuality within high school, which I understand is extremely cheesy, but even compared to how I was in ninth grade, I was trying to be unique and stand out but mainly to my teachers and just out of, you know, being self-conscious,” Mohanty said. “Now I’ve grown and I want to know who I am and what I’m actually interested in.”
Despite her rough beginnings from COVID-19, Mohanty truly found her footing in her later school years. She explained that her junior and senior years were much more enjoyable and that the difficulty of the IB program allowed her to thrive.
“Adjusting to the more difficult classes, while also not really knowing anybody coming out of COVID, was extremely hard,” Mohanty said. “I actually found my junior and senior years easier because I was able to manage the workload of IB, but also with a group of friends… that I felt much better in having and much more supported by.”
Mohanty not only managed the workload of the IB program, she pushed past it, taking on a part-time job, volunteering and participating in highly respected academic challenges such as state science fairs.
“My favorite high school memories have been when I get to travel to science fairs with people, like going to the regional or the state science fairs, because it’s just a group of people from Arlington who are all incredibly passionate about what they’re doing,” Mohanty said.
Not only did Mohanty participate in these competitions, but she also went to the international science fair on treating HIV-1 with spider digestive enzymes. She emphasized just how amazing this experience was.
“That was one of the coolest experiences of my life,” Mohanty said. “Last year, it was in LA and sponsored by Caltech, so I got to fly out and present in front of judges who are all experts in their fields… It’s also an opportunity to do research workshops as well, so I got to meet with professors who knew a lot more about HIV than I ever did, or people who had worked in drug development before, and network with them.”
Mohanty’s interests in this area extend beyond the world of science fair projects. She has big plans for her life in the future including extensive academic goals that will allow her to do what she is most passionate about.
“Right now, what I want to do is an MD and a PhD so I could continue to research while also getting face-to-face interaction with people,” Mohanty said. “Through my own medical experience [I have learned] that what is most important to me is that you can be there for a patient and listen to them, but then simultaneously I also need the really nerdy side of it too [being in a lab].”
Mohanty recognizes that she might not be here today if she had not had some help along the way. She is especially grateful to her three year biology teacher, Ms. Lourdes Sotomayor, who pushed her to be her best and fostered Mohanty’s lifelong interest in biology and STEM in general.
“I had her in ninth grade and for both years of IB bio,” Mohanty said. “She was always very open to wanting to go deeper into the content with me, and was also one of the first teachers I had who’s very open about [not knowing the answer] and [offering to] research it together… She definitely changed how I thought of things.”
Finally, Mohanty has decided to go big with college and will be attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) next year. This school is known for its outstanding STEM program, and is known for producing some of the world’s top scientists. This education will allow Mohanty to fulfill her dreams and help others in a way that she is most interested in.
“What appeals to me mainly is that… when I want to work in Biomedical Engineering, I want to do the transfer between getting drugs out of the lab and into the hospitals that have a lot more opportunities that way,” Mohanty said.
Many younger students look up to Mohanty and her achievements as a role model for the perfect academic ideals. Mohanty advises students hoping for future success by sticking with what they find most interesting.
“I would definitely say to find your niche,” Mohanty said. “I have a general interest in biology, but by sticking with what really interests me, which is the biology aspect of it, it opens a lot more doors.”
Mohanty is the very definition of what it means to be an outstanding student. She is entirely devoted to her academic passion, and she has worked hard in the entirety of her education. She is ready to take on the world with all of its problems, and her determination is something her classmates admire. From her journey through high school, we can learn what it truly means to break expectations. As emphasized in her parting words to the class of 2025,
“If you have something you want to pursue, just stick with it,” Mohanty said.
