As the president of the Spanish National Honor Society, Aditi enjoys learning foreign languages and exploring Latin American culture. Fluent in three languages and in the process of learning a fourth, Aditi likes connecting with people from different parts of the world through language.

“[Before] I joined Harker, I didn’t have the opportunity to learn [Spanish],” she said. “[Being the president] has made me embrace the culture and proud to be introduced to the Latin American culture, even though I’m not originally a part of it.”

Aditi finds learning other languages critical for embracing and exploring different cultures. She can speak English, Spanish and Hindi proficiently, and is in the process of learning Arabic.

“Foreign languages increase your scope of communication,” she said. “It’s the ability to communicate with other people that are from different parts of the world that is interesting for me. I think when you want to learn about someone else’s culture, and if you’re able to do so in their language, rather than conversing in English, that makes it a lot more powerful.”

At the age of four, Aditi started learning kathak, a style of Indian classical dance. Through learning this traditional art form, she built a connection with her Indian heritage. Having dedicated over 10 years to mastering kathak, she will display her experience with a final performance. She also connects with her own culture through her passion for Bollywood music, movies and dance.

“One thing that I like is that [Bollywood music] is really lively,” Aditi said. “It’s like the kind of music that can always pop up. The other thing is it’s really global. It’s fused a lot of styles together which I think is really cool.”

She watches Bollywood movies, another hallmark of Indian culture, very regularly.

“ I enjoy the stupidity of [the movies] because anyone that knows Bollywood knows that it’s really mindless,” she said. “My favorite movie is ‘I Hate Luv Storys.’ It’s a parody of the generic Indian love story and was their attempt to do something different, which I thought was really cool.”

Eager to try new things and open to experiences, Aditi made her first gutsy decision by joining the lacrosse team at Harker her freshman year. Although she had never played the sport before, she decided to try.

“[Lacrosse] is a great way to bond,” she said. “Even though I had no experience, I felt immediately welcomed. It was a very encouraging atmosphere, and that’s why I stayed.”