The splashing of water echoes throughout the pool as spectators hold their breath in anticipation. Ipsita Mandal (12) reaches the end of the lane, brimming with satisfaction of her efforts. After hours of practice and training, Ipsita’s performance shows both persistence and determination.

Ipsita started swimming at the age of seven after being introduced to the sport by a family friend. As she improved and joined a competitive program, Ipsita eventually used swimming to relax from school, an obstacle with many time-consuming assignments. 

After COVID-19, Ipsita’s progress slowed down, causing her to lose confidence. Now, she sees swimming as an activity for leisure instead of adding more stress to her life. 

“For the past couple years, I’ve been trying to put in a lot of effort and practice, but it didn’t transfer into the meets and times that I wanted, which was frustrating and led to more self-doubt in my abilities,” Ipsita said. “Seeing how I’m doing swimming for exercise and enjoyment lightens the need to stress over improving so much, but rather feeling free in the water. I’m making sure it remains as a place of refuge for myself from stress.”

Ipsita acknowledges that although swimming is viewed as mainly a physical sport, she must stay focused mentally, especially during competitions. Sometimes, Ipsita faces meets that last for a long period of time, taking up more energy and requiring perseverance. 

“Swimming has contributed to mental fortitude in terms of how swimming is a physical sport, but at the same time there’s also a very big mental game that you have to play,” Ipsita said. “Especially in meets when you have to swim longer events that require a lot of endurance.”

Ipsita’s positive outlook in swimming is seen by her friends and teachers as well. Close friend and swim teammate Jennifer Dick-Peddie describes Ipsita’s willingness to help and welcome new people on the team.

“She works really well in a team because she could get along with everyone,” Jennifer said. “She’s a team player and puts everyone before herself, and she’s really empathetic. She’s always happy and really energetic. She wants to talk to people. When we have new people come to swim practice, she’s always the first one to talk to them and invite them into the friend group.”

While Ipsita enjoys swimming, she also found an interest in biology and medicine, motivated to help her friend with severe asthma. She was able to see a surgeon carrying out their procedures in a project created by the Medical Club, prompting her to enjoy studying medicine.

“Through Harker’s Medical Club, there’s a mentorship program where I got paired with a vascular surgeon,” Ipsita said. “She allowed me to come in to shadow her and observe her performing an operation. That was a key moment when I knew that this was something that I wanted to do. I transformed into my desire to help provide people with the best life and save lives.”

Through her experiences with medicine, Ipsita wants to further pursue biology and be a doctor to aid others in hard times. Even though she understands that the path will not be simple, Ipsita knows the satisfaction of supporting people means much more to her.

“I sometimes fantasize about the day when I will be a surgeon and be able to, with my own two hands, save people or make peoples’ lives better,” Ipsita said. “Dreaming about that day makes me grateful for where I am right now, and even though the path towards becoming a doctor is definitely rough, in the end that gratification from helping people will be worth it.”

Upper school chemistry teacher Andrew Irvine commends Ipsita for her positive attitude during her sophomore class and office hours. Even though AP Chemistry is a challenging class, Irvine notes the optimistic mindset that Ipsita brought to the classroom. 

“She has the ability to break the ice with a question or remain positive, she would always smile or at least pretend to laugh at my bad jokes,” Irvine said. “That was nice and reassuring as a teacher. There were some office hours where it was just Ipsita, because that’s dedication. Overcoming the obstacle of AP Chem is a task for anybody, and she did it with a smile.”

Close friend Alice Tao (12) praises Ipsita for her work ethic in getting everything done quickly and efficiently. Alice appreciates Ipsita’s sacrifices to help her friends and how she balances school work with her activities. 

“She stayed up with me until 4 am helping me study,” Alice said. “That amount of giving to other people, that’s really inspiring, especially since she has a lot of work. She doesn’t have much time on her hands because she does so many extracurriculars. That’s what she brings to this community, and I appreciate her for it.”

Ipsita always attempts the most she can in her activities while seeing her efforts succeed. She doesn’t compare herself to others, and rather chooses to care more about her own self-improvement.

“Something I keep in mind is always striving for more, and that’s what pushes me to try to see just how far my limits are to reach my full potential,” Ipsita said. “I don’t want to not give something my best and regret that. I may not be the best, but even if I’ve improved, I feel proud knowing that my efforts are working.”

Whether through swimming, biology or medicine, Ipsita strives to put her best effort into her activities. She hopes to continue crafting her own journey of helping others through exploring more about medicine. 

“I realized that everything will work out in the end, especially me going into medicine,” Ipsita said. “I have so many years to live my life in terms of what I want to do and eventually forge a path that’s more stable. I’ll reach a point where I look back and I won’t regret anything. Giving it my all and trusting my own abilities will help me bring out the best in myself.”