Jokingly teased by classmates and computer science teacher Anu Datar about her height, Ihita Mandal (12) was determined to prove her physical ability. What’s a better way than to write on very top corner of the white board?

As she stretched her body and clambered on her tiptoes, Ihita struggled to spell letters on the board. So her friend and savior, Sara Min (12), came to the rescue and lifted Ihita to the board. Bursting into laughter, Ihita and friend Sara sparked a joyous commotion in class. After scolding them for improper classroom behavior, Datar also joined in the laughter.

Ihita’s character is defined by her contagious laughter. From attempting acrobatics in class to playing card games with friends, she fills the entire room with giggles.

“[Ihita and her friends] had fun in class. But she’s also very serious with her work. It’s not like the fun and chatting is at the expense of her work. She knows how to balance things very well.” Datar said.

Ihita’s personality carries over to her passion for music. Starting from when she was young, she’s always played piano.

“I express myself through my energy and laughter, and that ties into the music I produce. The music that I make reflects the emotions within me. Whenever I play I’m always jumping on the keys. I put all my positive energy into it. That’s why I mostly play happy songs, not like sad slow songs,” Ihita said.

At the beginning of high school, Ihita changed from playing solo piano to accompanying upper school’s choir Bel Canto. Although she was nervous with the change, she overcame her fear and grew as a musician and a person.

“Playing solo, you’re focused on your own thing. You’re playing however you want, you determine the speed you wanna play it at, the motions you wanna put into the music. When you are accompanying the choir, the focus is on the choir, not the pianist. So you have to figure out the best way to support the choir and how they would sing the piece,” Ihita said.

From backing others up during performances to spending time with friends, Ihita always valued amity and friendship. Her friend Anastaiya “Nastya” Sushkova recalls a time where Ihita open-mindedly gave her advice.

“She’s so sweet and genuine. she’s almost a sister but in a motherly way as well. I don’t know how to describe it. She generally wants to help people and cares,” Nastya said, describing a moment where she called Ihita for help on friendship troubles. “I was right when I called her [for advice] because when I did call her she took matters into her own hands. Not only did she offer emotional support, she logically laid things out for me.”

Her friends and teachers credit her on her humility and hard work. Started swimming at age 11, Ihita currently swims with the Harker Varsity swim team. Swimming coached her in valuing hard work and dedication. Ihita masters the balance between school, music, sports and friendship.

“She puts so much energy into swimming and always wakes up super early and still has so much motivation to come to school and do really well on her school work. She’s someone that I look up to in the aspect that she’s really motivated and up to do anything and never falls behind on any goal,” friend and classmate Enya Lu (12) said.

As her high school experience concludes, Ihita hopes her positivity will leave a mark in the Harker community and the people around her.

“My smile and laughter really embod[y] who I am because every time anyone sees me I’m always laughing or smiling at something. I feel like my smile helps bring joy to other people and myself as well. Just smiling makes everyone feel better,” Ihita said.