Sarika Chawla

Sarika Chawla is a senior at Acton-Boxborough Regional High School in Acton, MA. As a paraplegic wheelchair user, she feels passionately about spreading awareness for disability rights. She is also fascinated by the sciences and their real world applications, as well as their intersection with language. This past summer, she interned in the biological research lab of Nobel Laureate Dr. H. Robert Horvitz at MIT. Further, she has founded a Girls in Science Club at school to foster middle school girls’ interest in science and help reduce the gender gap in STEM fields. Aside from the sciences, Sarika is an avid reader and creative writer; she is editor-in-chief of her school literary magazine, and her work has been recognized by the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Sarika’s love of language extends beyond English. She has been learning Spanish since seventh grade, and this summer, she started studying the basics of Catalan as well. Since junior year, she has been pioneering an initiative through which she encourages students to submit writing in foreign languages to the literary magazine. She hopes to eventually learn all the Romance languages and become fluent in Hindi and Punjabi, which her family speaks. Additionally, Sarika has a passion for music. She co-leads an Indian-fusion a cappella group and is a member of her school’s choral program. Sarika will attend Harvard University in the fall, where she intends to study biology and computer science, continue pursuing her extracurricular passions, and advocate for disability rights.