Laughter echoes through the halls at the Jack Howe Memorial Tournament in Long Beach as Anaya Mandal (12) confers with their fellow debaters. Handing out pizza, Anaya engages with their teammates, congratulating them on their various accomplishments and talking about the energy of the tournament. After a day of rushing from place to place, Anaya’s efforts allow their teammates to relax and connect with each other.

New to Harker in ninth grade, Anaya, an outgoing and bubbly person by nature, spent time trying to foster connections between themselves and others. In their efforts, they found a variety of places to do so: debate, cheerleading, performing arts. In fact, Anaya’s struggle did not lie in finding places to allocate energy, but rather, cutting back and focusing. 

“I was a lot more outgoing than I think it should have been,” Anaya said. “I have no idea how I had the confidence back then. I don’t think that’s to say I have less confidence now- I think I’m just a little better at allocating where my energy goes.”

Within the magic of Anaya’s personality comes a level of self-regulation that goes unspoken. Despite all challenges, Anaya pushes forward with a positive attitude and open heart. Close friend Harshini Charturvedula (12) cites this quality in particular as something that has a major positive impact on those around Anaya.

“Anaya’s just always there,” Harshini said. “Even if they’re going through stuff, they’re never salty at people. They’re really good at compartmentalizing and making sure their friends are okay first. It’s not something you ever expect out of a person, but I think that’s really commendable.”

While Anaya immediately caught on to high school socially, finding an academic focus came with a more circuitous route. After spending their entire life resistant to more traditional STEM fields of employment, Anaya took a programming course that changed their views of the subject. After falling in love with the field, Anaya decided to do what they always do: make a positive impact on the community around them. This time, it came in the form of teaching young students in their community how to code.

“Even after the class ended, there were kids who were reaching out to me,” Anaya said. “They kept pursuing their computer science studies because they enjoyed the class. They told me, ‘I didn’t really want to do computer science before this, but you made the class fun, and you made it something I want to do.’ I think that’s what I’m proudest of: being able to kind of create that love for anything in another person.”

For Anaya, high school became a matter of finding their own voice: socially, academically, and even on the debate stage. They recall the beginning of their high school debate career, harking back on being introduced to what eventually became among their biggest passions.

“I had really severe stage fright,” Anaya said. “ I was like ‘okay, I’m gonna force myself to start performing.’ I’ve been a performer my whole life to this point, but in high school, I was like, ‘I want to be in debate.’ So I joined the speech and debate class in ninth grade.”

Even in the small things, Anaya’s ability to lift the spirits of those around them persists. Close friend Fern Biswas (11) recounts a time when Anaya went out of her way to video call them during a performance while they were home sick. 

“They started video calling me, bringing me through my entire performance backstage,” Fern said. “Honestly, at that time, that was the purest act of kindness that I’ve ever seen anyone do. Even though it was over a video call, it was genuinely so much fun.”

To Anaya, these acts of kindness serve as an everyday practice. No matter the situation, Anaya strives to encourage people to pursue their passions, simultaneously fueling their connection with the world at large, and helping them find their own purpose.

“I like it when people enjoy themselves,” Anaya said. “I really like when people are able to discover something about themselves that they love or they’re good at and be a part of that thing. There have been so many people in my life who have definitely inspired me to discover something I love doing.”