TANA YOUTH AWARD - Nithya Malisetti (9th Grader)

Nithya Malisetti is a gem! She is one of the most conscientious and hardworking students I have ever known, and she has proven to be one of the most innovative and intellectual thinkers I have ever encountered. She is also exceptionally charming, engrossing and sympathetic with enormous strength of character and integrity. I am extremely delighted and proud to write this letter nominating my daughter, Nithya for the TANA Youth Award.

Beginning 2010, when she was in Grade 1, Nithya has been proving her extraordinary flair with her staggering achievements. She displayed exceptional performance in World Geography, Mathematics and Science and has been demonstrating her excellence in numerous competitions at district, state and national levels all through her academic career.

Nithya, in her 4^th grade, achieved first-prize in 4-8 graders category of “National Geo Bee - 2013”, a District level (Wayzata school) competition held by National Geo Bee, evincing her knowledge and interest in World Geography.

Nithya is a Math champion gifted with extraordinary mathematical skills which are evident from her frequent accomplishments in various Math contests. Her unparalleled performance was first witnessed when she was selected for the “Gifted & Talented Vision-21” program for both Math & English in her 1^st Grade. She stood 5^th in her 5^th grade and 2^nd in her 6^th grade at consecutive “Math Masters” contests held in the state of Minnesota for 5^th and 6^th graders. Right after she secured 3^rd place in the Continental Math League, Nithya was chosen to represent her school at MATHCOUNTS, a national level program for 6-8 graders, for which schools usually select 8^th grade students. It was in her 6^th grade itself that she was selected for University of Minnesota Talented Youth Mathematics Program (UMTYMP) and finished College Algebra 1 and Algebra 2. In 7^th grade she was awarded a medal at Junior High Math League for her remarkable performance. In 2018, she was the only South-Asian student who made it to the count-down round of MATHCOUNTS, in the state of Minnesota.

Nithya has demonstrated her outstanding vocabulary, by winning the 2017 Curie TANA Competitions-Spell Master Challenge in Group 3 for which she was awarded on center stage, by Dr. Jampala Chowdary & Dr. Rao Mulapuri.

Nithya Malisetti was also awarded for her academic achievement as a high scorer on the ACT (35) and SAT (1500) test(s) in 8th grade for the Northwestern University Midwest Academic Talent Search (NUMATS) Awards at MN MATS Celebration by MN Council of Gifted & Talented & MN Educators of the Gifted & Talented.

Besides being a phenomenal academic performer, Nithya is also a distinguished artist. She is the only student whose artwork from 2^nd and 5^thgrades were displayed at the Wayzata Public Schools District Office. In 2014, during her 5^th grade, she was the Minnesota State Champion at Destination Imagination Fine Arts competition and was placed 15^th in the world at the DI finals. In her 6^th grade, as part of 2015 Destination Imagination Improvs, she stood 3^rd in Minnesota and was placed 6^th in the world at DI Finals (only MN TEAM in Improvs - confined spaces category), and 2^nd in the world for DI Instance challenge. Nithya was awarded 3^rd prize at 2015 TANA Arts.

Nithya’s achievements are not complete, if her passion towards community service isn’t recognized. In her 4^th grade, as part of 2013 Destination Imagination Outreach project, she worked with ‘ASHA for Education’ foundation and raised a fund of $2000.00 dollars for under-served students in Mumbai, India. She has recently started working as a research trainee at University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy, under the guidance of Dr. Karunya Kandimalla, in efforts to become a doctor to save lives in future.

Nithya is also passionate about serving the nation. She has recently been promoted as a Civil Air Patrol Cadet Staff Sergeant as constituent of WRIGHT BROTHERS AWARD. As part of USAF auxiliary services (North Hennepin Squadron), she embarked on a journey to finish Phase 1 (The Learning Phase) and is stepping into Phase 2 (The Leadership Phase). She wants to finish Phase 4 (The Executive Phase) before finishing high school to be a Cadet Colonel (GENERAL CARL A. SPAATZ AWARD).

Considering her relentless drive, intellectual engagement and prodigious accomplishments, I strongly feel that Nithya Malisetti deserves the TANA Youth Award.

Rajendra Losetty
North Central Region – Regional Vice President
2017 – 2019