Indian origin girls in Johns Hopkins' world's 'brightest' list

Indian origin girls -- New Jersy-based Natasha Peri (11) and Dubai-based Priyamvada Deshmukh (12) -- have been named in the worlds "brightest" students list based on results of above-grade-level testing of 19,000 students across 84 countries, according to Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY), a part of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

"Peri, a student at Thelma L. Sandmeier Elementary School, was honoured for exceptional performance on the SAT, ACT, or similar assessment taken as part of the CTY Talent Search," said a statement from the CTY.

Deshmukh, a student of GEMS Modern Academy, Dubai, has been honoured for her exceptional performance on the SCAT assessment taken as part of the CTY Talent Search, a university statement said.

She was one of nearly 19,000 students from 84 countries who joined CTY in the 2019-21 Talent Search years. CTY uses above-grade-level testing to identify advanced students from around the world and provide a clear picture of their true academic abilities.

Peri took the Johns Hopkins Talent Search test in Spring 2021, when she was in Grade 5. Her results in the verbal and quantitative sections levelled with the 90th percentile of advanced Grade 8 performance.

"This motivates me to do more," she said, adding that doodling and reading J.R.R Tolkien's novels may have worked for her.

Deshmukh took the Johns Hopkins Talent Search test in Spring 2020, when she was still in Grade 6. Her results in the verbal sections levelled with the advanced Grade 10 performance. She made the cut for Johns Hopkins CTY 'High Honors Awards'.

Due to the Covid19 induced delay in Global logistics support, she finally received her much awaited "High Honors" pin this week, which she lovingly kept in front of her Grandparents photograph as tribute to her roots.

The delay in officially getting the certificates did not stop her from attending the summer programme at John Hopkins University's CTY in English literature where she studied the confluence of Art and Science in literary writing and completed the course scoring 'A' Grade.

She followed up with top scoring the second level of Asset Talent Examination which also qualified her for summer program at NorthWestern University this year, where she is learning about world building in fiction writing this year.

Her elder brother was among the first UAE students to have cleared the Duke University TIP (Talent Identification Programme) when he was in Class 8.

Her parents joke that its nothing but routine sibling rivalry that she wanted to achieve the same, just a year ahead of her brother. Even though she loves Physics and Computer Science as subjects, unlike her elder brother (who is Chancellor's Scholarship holder student of Astro Physics at University of Massachusetts), Deshmukh wants to pursue humanities and literature when she goes to college five years down the lane.

As part of Johns Hopkins policy, granular information is not broken down by age or race.

Likewise, it is left to the guardian to disclose the prodigy's name. Within the US, awardees come from all 50 US states.

"We are thrilled to celebrate these students," said Virginia Roach, CTY's executive director.

"In a year that was anything but ordinary, their love of learning shined through, and we are excited to help cultivate their growth as scholars and citizens throughout high school, college, and beyond," Roach added.

The quantitative section of the Johns Hopkins CTY test measures the ability to see relationships between quantities expressed in mathematical terms, the verbal section measures understanding of the meaning of words and the relationships between them.