indian american college essay

Growing Up a Desi Girl: What It Means to Be Between Two Worlds

When I'm presented with a "Where are you from?" I usually run through this multiple-choice quiz in my head:

a. Say that I'm American and be prodded to admit where I'm really from, as though being born on native soil isn't enough of a token of my American-ness.

b. Say that I'm Indian and sit through the whole FAQ, ("Wait, red dot Indian or Native American? Do you eat curry every night? Do your parents speak English? Will your marriage be arranged?")

c. Say "around here" and fake that I have to go to the bathroom.

I roll the dice with options A-C, depending on how much energy I have that day. But, the truth is? I'm not sure myself some days.

Being a woman of color, people often press you even harder on that "Where are you from?" question. Questions that are often considered harmless can sometimes result in an awkward, stumbling identity crisis. My standard reply of, "California, around the SF… Bay Area," never seems to placate people, because my tan skin, big dark eyes, and thick eyebrows betray me. I don't look like I'm really American to a lot of people (read: sun-kissed, California-beach-blonde beauty), and so the label never quite fits. Add in the fact that my name is "Nikita" and I've truly thrown the audience a plot twist. Is she from here? Is she mixed-race? Is she an alien? Stay tuned to find out!

I've lived in four big cities in under 18 years: Chicago, New Delhi, San Francisco, and New York. New York is now home, and technically because my family is in California, so is San Francisco. It's odd to juggle specific regional identities that pertain to the U.S. only while negotiating the complications of my ethnic and cultural identities as well. Saying I'm from California means something different to people than "American," and saying I'm Indian carries other implications. Plus, the "Indian" identity is an umbrella term for a series of different identities all woven together by a similar overarching cultural thread and a political boundary. India is a vast country with dozens of languages, cuisines, and more — no two Indian experiences can ever neatly intersect.

Perhaps if I were entirely born and raised in America, I'd feel as though I wasn't too Indian to fit under "American" neatly. And, maybe if I didn't spend the better part of my 21 years in America, I'd feel better just saying I am Indian. I love being Indian, but sometimes I don't feel Indian enough, really. I am Indian. I am American. I am Indian-American. Neither there, nor there — but somewhere in between.

I lived in India for the better part of the first 5 years of my life, and once I moved back to the U.S., I immediately felt alien amongst my classmates. With my broken English, my funny accent, and the fact that I had no idea who Pikachu was, I may as well have been from another planet. I was a quick study, though: I laboriously repaired my accent, always making sure to pronounce my Vs and Ws correctly, and never allowing my Rs to linger on my tongue for too long; I watched all the "Blue's Clues" I could get my hands on; I asked my parents to take me to movies, the works. However, despite all my efforts otherwise, I felt culturally inept.

So I stepped up my efforts. I began shirking my Indian-ness and wholly adopting American culture in an attempt to fit in. I spent the better part of my teenage years acting as though my own culture was backwards, primitive, and something worth being ashamed of. I turned up my nose at Indian food, maligned religion, and was just kind of a brat. "I'm like, the whitest Indian girl like, ever," and all that jazz. I tried so desperately to lose all the things that made me different so that I could fall into a dominant narrative that wasn't mine and didn't need to be mine — despite how much the world sometimes made (and still makes) me feel otherwise.

I had made an error in naively assuming that assimilating wholeheartedly would make my life easier, but the truth is: whiteness didn't fit. And somehow, full on Indian-ness didn't either, given that I was (mostly) raised and schooled in America. I didn't feel as though I could relate to either fairly. In retrospect? As much as I desperately wanted one label or the other to fit in an absolutist fashion, they never needed to: it's okay to be who I am, the way I am. I think I fall somewhere in between Indian and American; I am the definition of a hyphenated, hybrid identity.

The truth is, it's okay to feel like you're neither here nor there — we are all shaped by the experiences we've lived through. There is no right way to be Indian, and there is no right way to be American. We're formed by our individual experiences and beliefs, and it's daunting to collapse millions of experiences into one label for a curious stranger (or even yourself!). It is normal to feel confused by your own identity from time to time, to feel like an enigma. Trust me though — as much as the world keeps making you feel like an absolute weirdo, you are not. Learning and knowing that I have a place in this world has been healing; finding people who have shared similar struggles, experiences, and stories has been instrumental. Know that you are not entirely alone, and as you go through life you will encounter your people.

I still don't know how to really answer that dreaded question, though. I'll keep rolling the dice and get back to you.

*Editor's Note: This headline has been adjusted from "Growing Up Indian and American" since its original publish date to reflect that Neelam Gill, the model pictured, is Indian and British.

Want more Teen Vogue ? Go behind the scenes of our August cover shoot with the new faces of fashion!

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Yale Common App Essay: A meaningful background, identity, interest, or talent.

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. if this sounds like you, then please share your story..

Since my childhood, I wanted success in America, a desire shared by many first generation children of immigrants, but as an Indian male I convinced myself that the only way to attain this was through complete assimilation. I found ways to pick and prod at some of the most unjust aspects of Indian society and used that as enough justification to reject my culture altogether. I wanted to be American and I felt that the Indian accent, the Indian food, and just about everything “Indian” about me had to go. In my quest to become “American”, I almost lost a sense of who I am.

Throughout elementary school, I was identified as Indian, yet I tirelessly attempted to prevent this. On cultural awareness day in first grade, when asked what nationality I was, I proudly proclaimed “American,” to everyone’s surprise. By this time, I had lost the accent entirely, yet there was still enough “evidence” that I was Indian. My mother packed me a traditional Indian lunch every morning and every afternoon I would bring home untouched food. After enough scolding from her, I would make sure that I brought none of the food back by tossing it in the cafeteria garbage. I look back and wonder why I was so obsessed with destroying every tiny bit of “Indian” in me, for none of my peers nor my teachers recognized nor congratulated my efforts. I was locked in an identity conflict. There was no denying who I truly was, but I felt that I needed to change that in order to fit in.

In middle school, I had gained the reputation of being the most “Americanized” Indian in school. My friends would marvel at my complete detachment from my culture. I would pretend to not understand my parents when they spoke to me in Gujarati in public. I would always mark English as my first and only language spoken at home. I would always express my distaste for Indian dishes when engaged in conversation about ethnic food, although I secretly devoured the traditional biryani and makhni chicken whenever my mother would prepare it.

During the summer of 2012, my family and I travelled to London to attend a relative’s wedding. To my surprise, I was introduced to my cousins, who although possessing respectable educational degrees, speaking with a British accent, in interracial marriages, and mingling with British friends, embraced the cultural richness of India. The wedding displayed all the cultural rites and rituals with traditional Indian food and delicacies, while the reception that followed had a totally westernized flare. All the guests had a great time and I realized that there was a creative way in which the two cultures engaged in conflict within me could integrate.

Another turning point for me occurred during my research internship at Yale’s School of Medicine. There was a great amount of cultural diversity that existed in the research atmosphere and I found myself meeting people of various nationalities. Obviously, people of similar cultural backgrounds tended to aggregate, but I found it amazing that during lunch hour everyone, regardless of nationality, would socialize over the various ethnic foods available from street-side vendors. This epitomized the “melting- pot” of cultures that America is. I met highly regarded professors, doctorates, and medical students who despite their successes in America still relished in their cultures openly and even embraced each other’s cultures.

It was at this point that I realized that there was no embarrassment or shame in expressing my culture. For too long had I suppressed my culture due to my flawed interpretation of how success is attained in America. There was nothing advantageous in trying to fit the portrait of a “generic” American, for such a portrait is a fallacy. My identity is Indian and American – in fact, I now like to think that I’m the best of both worlds.

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“We Are Home” Essay Contest

All submissions are due by October 15, 2021 at 11:55 PM EST

In recent years, the term DREAMer has emerged as a way to describe undocumented, DACAmented, or documented immigrants who grew up in the United States as children but do not have a path to citizenship. In spite of growing up in the United States and largely identifying as Americans, thousands of South Asian DREAMers face numerous obstacles including constant uncertainty over their status and whether they face deportation.  

To raise awareness and highlight the issues faced by South Asian DREAMers (documented and undocumented), Indian American IMPACT presents the “We are Home” Essay Contest.  

Since its founding, immigrants have flocked to America in pursuit of opportunity and the promise of the American dream. 

Drawing on your own personal experiences, write an essay that conveys how your status as a Dreamer has affected your life, goals, and view of what citizenship in America means to you. 

Are you Eligible?

• The applicant’s national origin must be a South Asian country. 
• The applicant must be aged 16-24 and be currently enrolled in a high school or college in the United States.
• DREAMER Status: Applicant must have DACA, TPS or be undocumented, meaning currently do not have lawful status in the United States OR have grown up in the United States as the dependent of a nonimmigrant visa holders such as the H1B, E-1, E-2, L2, R, O, or U visa, and face(d) ageing out of their status at age 21 (“Documented Dreamers”).

*If  you have any questions or concerns about your eligibility email [email protected]  

Prizes and Benefits

Cash Scholarship

• Up to $5,000 for the first place winner

Winners and top 10 finalists

• Trip to Washington, D.C. for event with special guests
• Essay published in Brown Girl Magazine

To learn more about the contest rules, click here .  

To view the scoring rubric, click here . 

To spread the word about the contest, use our toolkit here . 

For our printable one page flyer, click here . 

For other scholarship resources, please visit our partners at www.thehiddendream.org

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Winning Essays: Growing Up Indian In America

Atlanta, GA, July 14: Last month, we asked Indian-American teens to submit an essay on the topic, ‘Growing up Indian in America’. We had a total of 15 submissions; seven in the senior age group (16-18 years) and eight in the junior group (13-15 years).

“It was good to see the perspectives of these youngsters,” said Ajay Vishwanathan, one of the judges. “From being embarrassed by their Indian lunches to becoming aware (and eventually respectful) of the space they occupy between the two cultures, the experiences were intriguing to read.” The other judges echoed his sentiments.

We are pleased to feature the two winning essays, one from each category. Congratulations to the winners! Later this month, we will feature other notable essays.

Diversity Within Diversity (Winner, Senior Category)

Imperialism. It’s a word that the entire world was familiar with when Great Britain was a force to be reckoned with. Snatching up territory to expand its sphere of influence, the unassuming island claimed lands from the bottom tip of Africa to the northern regions of the Americas.India was also caught in its wide cast net, tangled in fishing line, but jumped to turn back to water.

In the traditional sense of the word, imperialism is now obsolete. Countries don’t stake claim to territories; they influence others by diplomacy, military, and most importantly, culture.America’s cultural imperialism is very subtle, taking the form of a boosted denim industry in Korea and a greater likelihood of spotting a Kentucky Fried Chicken in India. If my India-dwelling counterpart is swaying from her traditional Indian culture, then how am I, a first generation America-dwelling desi, supposed to stick to mine? This imperialism is not only the root of an internal struggle, but also led to the birth of the American-born Confused Desi (ABCD).

This person will be ready to eat a Domino’s pizza, while secretly craving some biryani, butter chicken, and saag paneer. This person loves to go to football games, but also gets up at 5 to watch the India-Pakistan cricket match. This person perfects the art of the Indian mono-braid at a young age, and later perfects the art of the messy bun.

But sometimes, this dual-culture can be confusing. Do we go to the new Hollywood blockbuster with trendy actors, or do we go to the run-down theater on the other side of town to see the Bollywood box office hit? Do we press a single button on our car sound system to get English music, or do we shuffle through our Hindi music playlists on our phones while simultaneously rushing to find the aux cord at a red light? How many times can we make a conscious decision to immerse ourselves in American culture before we can no longer make a list of the Top 10 Shah Rukh and Kajol moments from film, or forget the words to our favorite Hindi song? How much time does it take for us before keeping up with Bollywood movies, Hindi songs, Indian sports and current events becomes too taxing?

Being an American-born Confused Desi is difficult. We dwell on the dichotomy between American and Indian culture, with a cultivated respect for both. We go through phases where being Indian is easier, but usually the American phase predominates. Maybe some can sit on the bridge between the two, but such cases are regarded as rare.

However, even the most ‘white-washed’ Indian treasures and possesses the remnants of his Indian heritage. He might wear Polos and Sperry’s to school, but he still remembers how to play the tabla from the lessons he took as an elementary school kid. She might refuse to speak Hindi at home, but she will always oil up her rusty vocabulary before speaking on the phone with her thamma. And even the most ‘fresh off the boat’ Indian still captures part of the essence of American culture growing up, despite his boycott on Hollister tees and McDonald’s fries.

ABCDs lie on a spectrum of Indian-American culture, but can never reach one side completely. This diversity within diversity is what makes the Indian community inAmericaremarkable. Instead of consisting of two primary colors blue and yellow, an American-born Confused Desis is one of thousands of shades of green. We might have struggled growing up in two worlds, but as young adults, we appreciate our unique cultural perspectives, our atypical social experiences, and our great fortune of having been born into a culture with such a storied past and present.

We are criticized for being too Indian by Americans, and too American by Indians. But by our own standards, we are all sitting on a bridge together.

-Ananya Ghose Age: 16 School: ChattahoocheeHigh School

 A World Split Between Two Cultures (Winner, Junior Category)

Culture has a significant role to play on one’s life and defines the character of a person, so being Indian-American, our world is split between two cultures, forcing us to play a dual role. For instance, we spend half-day at school living as an American, and at home experience a true Indian lifestyle. As an Indian in America, we face the world with self-identification issues, are open to a wider selection of opportunities, and have an impact on society from the moment we are born.

We grew up in a society where media has taken over the way children see the world. Wherever they look, they see an ideal American lifestyle which their family differs from. In the United States, Miss America is considered to be the beauty image of the nation. Our Indian community was recognized as a whole when Nina Davuluri was crowned Miss America in the year 2014. In an interview with Fox News, Davuluri stated, “Growing up as a girl, I imagined Miss America to always be the girl next door,” with the intent to emphasize the cultural preferences seen within the United States and its impact on the younger generation.

The differences in skin, eye, and hair color influences insecurities in an average Indian American. Furthermore, Nina Davuluri conveys a negative connotation to her perspective as a young girl to emphasize the idea that young Americans are brainwashed in a way to believe blond hair, white skin, and blue eyes are ideal for beauty and social acceptance.  I have seen many peers at school that conceal their lunch boxes, forgetting the hard work and time their moms spent in preparing their lunch. Children at times feel obligated to conceal what makes them unique because everywhere they look, they see the stereotypical American family. This self-identification problem poses a question whether their lifestyle is “correct”.

Although experiencing life inAmerica as an Indian can be difficult, the positives outweigh the negatives. Young Indian-Americans have already proved by now that we are a ‘cut-above’ in studies than any other ethnicity, several schools’ rating have inclined, where we have predominant Indian population; being bilingual gives Indian-Americans a better comprehensive ability over other peers.

I faced many hardships growing up due to my cultural differences in the  country. I have realized that this culture is worth embracing. I am proud to be in a culture that has expanded so much and by the year 2020, one out of every three Americans will be of Indian descent.  We are given the ability to experience a whole new culture without having to leave the house. This expands our knowledge of the world around us making us more aware of the circumstances we face. The bond of sharing a culture and language makes our Indian society stronger as a whole, allowing us to create stable friendships among one another. In our culture we are fond of putting together events to educate not only the younger generation but non-Indians too. These events open the eyes of many who aren’t aware of the cultures practiced in their own country. As actress Rani Mukerji said, “Once you understand and appreciate other people’s cultural backgrounds, then you can also connect with them more.”

Schools in America contain a diverse group of students, and when we are all put together, we are bound to experience new cultures. During lunch, we see food from all over the world come together in one room, and in social media we see special events held from different cultures. We play a big role in this cycle as we practice our Indian culture because we open the eyes of others that we socialize with. Studies have shown kids who are open to various cultures around the world have an “independent view of themselves”, meaning that they define themselves based on personal traits and characteristics. This is an opportunity for kids to stand out and express themselves in a unique way.

In conclusion, the Indian culture we practice has an everlasting impact on the society we live in. Identity and culture is what builds ethnicity, causing us to face the hardships in life, making us stronger as a person and makes us realize the impact we have on the peers around us.

I am proud to be a part of Indian culture that is full of life, color and various diverse festivities. Our culture believes in unity in diversity, religious tolerance and universal acceptance. The determination and effectiveness of our community to pass on this rich and radiant culture to younger generations puts us in the forefront. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.”

-Pranathi Goli Age: 14 School: Finished 8th grade from Piney Grove Middle School

 ——————————————————

The essays were graded blind by this panel of five judges- all with great writing credentials. Thank you for your time and effort, judges!

• Ajay Vishwanathan has work published or forthcoming in over ninety literary journals, including The Minnesota Review, Sou’wester, Southern Humanities Review, The Potomac, and The Baltimore Review. He’s currently working on a new novel as his completed manuscript, Little Hands of Silk, is being readied by his literary agent to be sent  to potential publishers. One of the editors of Foundling Review, Ajay is the author of  From a Tilted Pail , a short story collection from Queen’s Ferry Press (2014).
• Navami Naik works as Lead, Global Partnerships with the American Cancer Society. Navami has been working in non-profit management for the past 10 years. Prior to this, she worked as a journalist with The Times of India, where she primarily covered issues related to health and education. Navami holds a Master’s degree in Social Service from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania,USA and has trained as a journalist in the United Kingdom.
• Jyothsna Hegde grew up in a house full of ardent readers, and has always enjoyed writing. Being a software engineer and an adjunct faculty at a university in Baltimore hardly left any time to read, let alone write. But after moving to Atlanta, she found an opportunity to write for NRI Pulse and has been part of the newspaper’s editorial team for several years. She hopes to write about real or fictional people and events in way that makes the reader feel part of the experience, and encourages thinking that goes deeper than the surface.​
• Aditya Rao is a 2015 graduate of New York University. While his papers have been published in academic journals, he is fond of creative and essay writing. He also maintains a blog: Bureaumania.wordpress.com .
• Reena Joshi is the owner of WriteRight . WriteRight’s goal is to help all its students from grades 2-12 understand the English concepts tested on all assessments culminating with the SAT and the ACT.  Students are taught to master reading comprehension techniques, conquer confusing vocabulary, and of course, score well on assessments. From constructing basic sentences to constructing SAT and college application essays, WriteRight students learn to consistently write well. The long term goals are high SAT/ACT test scores and acceptance into choice colleges, and so the earlier students start preparation, the better the chances for a higher score, acceptance into choice colleges and scholarships.

  WriteRight has a special offer for NRI Pulse essay contestants and readers:

• All essay contestants – free registration ($100 regular registration) + $50 discount on tuition upon registration for a semester. 
• All readers – free registration upto September 1, 2016 ($100 savings) *must bring the page from NRI Pulse Newspaper that has the essay results on it

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December 17, 2021

The indian american dream: by putting family and education first, indian americans rise.

• Two factors appear to play central roles in the rise of Indian Americans: education and family. Tweet This
• Indian immigrants have the highest family stability of any group in America, with 94% of Indian immigrants with children stably married, compared to 66% of white Americans. Tweet This

With Jack Dorsey bowing out and Parag Agrawal taking over as CEO of Twitter, Indian immigrants now captain not just Twitter but many of the biggest companies in the tech sector, from Google to Microsoft. In a comment  highlighted by many  in the Indian press, Tesla CEO Elon Musk  picked up on the trend in a Tweet  that read, “USA benefits greatly from Indian talent!”

Indeed, Agrawal  was born in Ajmer , a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. He joins a growing list of American tech executives of Indian descent, including Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and IBM head Arvind Krishna. 

One way to view the Indian American success in tech is simply as a matter of numbers. “If a dozen of the top CEOs in the world come from a country with 18% of the world’s population, why would I be surprised?”  asked Seshadri Kumar recently . 

But the Indian CEOs at the top of American tech companies are hardly the only example of Indian American success. Our analysis of data derived from the 2019 American Community Survey paints a picture of a group that has found astounding success in the United States in achieving what could be called the “Indian American Dream.”

Indian immigrants make up about  6%  of the U.S. foreign-born population and are now the second-largest immigrant group in the U.S., after immigrants from Mexico. As one example of their success, Indian Americans now top the charts in income. Median family income among Indian Americans between the ages of 25 and 55 was $133,130 in 2019, well above the white median income of $86,400. Indian Americans also have higher income than other Asian Americans. The median family incomes for Chinese, Japanese and Filipino Americans ages 25 to 55 were about $100,000 in 2019, well below Indian Americans’ median family income. 

Two factors appear to play central roles in the rise of Indian Americans: education and family. No other racial group of Americans is as well educated as Indian Americans — 82% of Indian American adults ages 25-55 are college educated, compared to just 42% of whites who have a degree. Meanwhile, no other group of Americans is as likely to be married as Indian Americans — 78% of Indian Americans ages 25-55 are married compared to 58% of whites. 

Indeed, both education and marriage help explain the income gap between Indian and white families. After controlling for education, the white-Indian gap in average family income shrinks from $61,868 to $36,628. When marital status is also controlled in a regression model, the gap falls to $28,410. 

This would hardly come as a surprise to observers of Asian and immigrant cultures, including Indian American culture, which often place a special emphasis on both education and family.

Vimal Duggal, a retired Indian American who moved to the United States in his 40’s and brought his young children with him, explained how he raised his kids to see education as the path to prosperity. “Three years of hard work you do now (in high school), the rest of the life will be easy. You can enjoy life, then the rest of the life will be very hard for you. So, you decide what you want to do,” he said he told his kids about the dangers of slacking off on their studies. 

Deepak Bedi, a Houston-area physician who was born and raised as an Indian in Kenya, explained that many Indian American families go above and beyond to educate their kids. “One of the keys that takes Indian kids far is that it’s not just what they learn at school. I think there’s schooling at home in addition to what goes on in schools,” he noted. “You might find a kid who’s 10 years old but is practicing math with their mother at home every day.”

This Indian American emphasis on education came through crystal clear in a  study conducted in 2017  by the life insurance company Mass Mutual. The study of parents across America concluded that “Asian Indian parents consider a college education as the key to a child’s success, maturity, respect and the gateway to full employment — and woven into the fabric of Asian Indian culture is a parental obligation” to fully fund their kids’ education. The researchers noted that “by the time a child has reached the age of 10, 79% of Asian Indian parents, more than any other ethnic group in the study, are saving for college.” Moreover, 90% of Indian American parents, higher than any other ethnic group in the study, said that a college education was important.

The Indian Americans we spoke to for this piece emphasized that part of the reason first-generation Indian American parents push their children so hard is because they faced an uphill path into the American middle class. 

“When you come to a different country, difficult culture, different society, you have to prove yourself. It’s not going to be easy for us to compete with … native, local residents because for them it’s easier. The path is easy. For us, it will be hard,” Duggal told us. “We have to get that edge, and the only way I think we can get that edge is by going to college and getting some … knowledge and experience and then training.” 

Family, too, is a cornerstone of Indian American life.  Our analysis  of the 2019 American Community Survey finds that Indian immigrants have the highest family stability of any group in America, with 94% of Indian immigrants with children stably married, compared to 66% of white Americans. (Family stability is also higher for Indian immigrants than native-born Indian Americans — for  whom 87% are stably married , still way higher than average, but not as high as what we see among the first generation.) 

Part of the reason for the strength of the Indian family unit is the way Indian culture stresses familism over individualism. 

“With family, it’s a very strong collective unit,” Pooja Mamidanna, a therapist who has spent years working with Indian American clients, told us. “You want to give back to your elders. You want to honor your family’s name, and you take care of your elders. … It’s not I vs. you. (It is a) collectivistic family dynamics that exists, it’s we come together first. So, it’s not even about putting yourself first. It’s putting your family first.” 

Duggal stressed that he believed in raising his own children in a moderate way — avoiding being both too tough and too lax. But he also suggested that American parenting is too lax today. “They don’t push at all,” he said of many Americans parents. “They are completely laid back. …. Children need guidance. They don’t need dominance, but they need guidance. And this guidance part is missing in the mainstream (American culture), in my opinion.”

This is not to say traditional Indian American culture is not without its own challenges.

“Being hardworking, being raised in such a family system, it’s a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because it helps you achieve your goals, it gives you that drive, it gives you that ambition, but when it becomes slightly problematic is when the parents don’t really understand what that pressure can do to (the kids) in the long term,” Mamidanna noted, “With their identities, like having low self-esteem, having low confidence, or this need to always (be) perfect.”

For many of her younger clients, she needs to get parental buy-in to continue seeing them. But many of the parents she talks to are unsympathetic to their kids’ anxiety and stress. She deals with this by reframing the therapy to appeal to traditional Indian values. 

“I had to change the language when I would talk to their parents, like tying it back to their academic success in school,” she noted. “Saying … they are struggling in school a little bit, and therapy would also give them the tools to like better perform in their academic life.”

But like many other groups of people who immigrated to the United States, successive generations of Indian Americans are joining the melting pot, fusing aspects of their homeland’s culture with America’s. 

Unlike many other Indian Americans, Bedi didn’t try to pressure his children into joining the fields many Indians commonly enter, like STEM, and he also didn’t push them to get married young. 

“They’re making their own decisions,” he admitted of his kids, who are in their 30s. “It sort of can make a parent unhappy at times, but I think we accepted that it’s their life. And I think that sometimes they are performing to a much lesser potential than they could have than if they had stayed on the same straight path as many other traditional Indians do here.” 

But he thinks there are benefits of a more liberal approach, noting that Indian Americans are starting to diversify their interests and becoming better represented in fields like entertainment. Ultimately, this branching out may be the result of a generation of younger Indian American children who didn’t have to struggle the same way their parents did and can afford to pursue a less rigid path to achieving the Indian American Dream.

“I don’t think the Indian immigrants here … will become exactly like the locally born Americans in this aspect of achievement because that element of the achievement culture — I’ve got to study, I’ve got to get ahead — that’s already baked into the system, into the genes, if you will,” he said. “Even though I was a physician, I was in a system where I had to perform better than my peers to show them I was equal when I came here. I still had to do that for many years during my career. You had to be better than your local peers to be considered equal. So, I think when these kids were born here, they will never have to do that. They are considered equal in that sense just right from the start.”

The question, of course, is whether Indian Americans born and raised in the United States in coming generations will hold onto the educational and family advantages that have helped the first generation rise to the top of the American economy.

Zaid Jilani is a freelance journalist who previously worked for UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center. Brad Wilcox is director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, senior fellow of the Institute for Family Studies and a Deseret News contributor. Wendy Wang is director of research at the Institute for Family Studies.

This article appeared first at Deseret News . It is reprinted here with permission.

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How to Tell Your Native Story on a College Application

If you’re like most students, you’re not exactly looking forward to the high stakes college application process. How do you write the perfect essay? How do you share with reviewers everything you want them to know about you? Will sharing your Native heritage help make your application stand out? Here are some tips for telling your Native story on a college application.

Utilize Every Part of the Application While many would argue that the personal essay is the most important part of the college application, it’s certainly not the only one. Many applications require or allow for short essays, lists of activities, resumes, and options for including creative work. These areas can be incredibly helpful in telling your Native story. While there is only so much you will be able to include in your personal essay, the other sections of the application provide areas to expand upon, or introduce, aspects of what your Native heritage means in your life. Use them to do just that, highlighting experiences, skills, and memories that are unique to you.

Don’t Be Afraid to Write about Yourself College applications are where you’re supposed to show who you are, and what you have accomplished. Don’t be afraid of sharing your Native story. Instead, highlight it — it’s something uniquely personal to you. Reviewers aren’t necessarily looking for flash; they’re looking for honesty and substance. Sharing with reviewers who you are, and what your Native experience looks like, will help them better understand you as an applicant and potential student at their school.

Focus on the Personal Essay The personal essay is the best place to tell your Native story. But how do you share everything in so few words? Don’t panic. Think about your story and what you want reviewers to come away knowing. Focus on one or two moments or experiences that tell your story, and offer insight into who you are as a person.

Be Honest Whether it’s the fact that you are a first-generation college student or have a passion for taxidermy, be honest on every part of your application. Reviewers want to know what makes you, you. Your honesty gives reviewers the best look at you, and helps them better understand your Native story. Reviewers gravitate toward authenticity and honesty, and they’ve read enough applications to know when those two aspects are absent. Honesty really is the best policy.

Be OK with Sharing Only Part of Your Story At the end of the day, there is only so much you can include in your college application. Even taking advantage of every section, you may feel like your Native story isn’t complete. That’s OK. As long as you’ve told the parts you find meaningful, you will have done your job. You’ve given reviewers a strong sense of who you are as an individual and a student, and that’s all they really need. So don’t obsess over trying to fit every single aspect of your Native story into your application. You don’t need to. 

Completing an application can seem like a monumental task. Try to think of it as an opportunity to show reviewers who you are and what you would bring to their campus. Your story is unique to you, and no one can take that away. Only you can choose how and what you share, but being open, honest, and clear can give your application the added boost it needs to stand out from the rest. Don’t be afraid to tell your Native story — embrace it!

Abigail Reigner, Comanche Nation, is a sophomore at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where she studies mechanical engineering. She also serves as the AISES Region 6 Student Representative. 

With thousands of applications landing at admissions offices, why is it important to make yours personal? Every college’s admission process is different. It’s daunting to submit your application in a pool of thousands. Writing a personal, heartfelt story can be a breath of fresh air for the person reviewing your application.

Why should you tell your Native story on a college application?   Native American students are typically one of the least populous groups among college applicants. It is important not just to tell your story with the goal of getting into college, but also to bring a better awareness to Native struggles, lifestyles, and stories. College applications are a place where you don’t only represent yourself, but all your backgrounds and experiences. It’s your job to own your backgrounds! Providing insight to an otherwise overlooked experience can help admissions counselors get a better idea of who you are —your background, the way you were raised, and where you come from.

What’s the best way to tell your Native story on an application?  A lot of college essays have prompts, that are either assigned or “pick and choose.” If you’re not sure yet what you want to write about, try brainstorming a few different ideas for each essay topic. If you already have an essay topic in mind, try to find the question that best fits your story, and how you can reflect on it. There’s no wrong way to express yourself, so don’t worry so much about the story itself versus what you felt and learned.

How can a Native story be relayed without revealing too much information?  There are a lot of ways to do this, like changing or not using names or simply leaving out details that you deem too personal to share. However, you need to make sure that your story makes sense without these details, so that it is still a comprehensible, thoughtful essay through which you reveal parts of yourself that would be beneficial to the admissions process. It’s important to outline your essay before writing. You can do this by “story mapping” details that are important to include. By mapping the essay early in the process, you can identify information you don’t want to share, and can find an alternate approach to telling your story in a way that makes sense.

How can your Native experience translate to a campus involvement?  A lot of college campuses have Native student clubs, where Indigenous students can connect and work on a variety of things. Many schools also have umbrella-style diversity programs. Either type of club is a way to get involved. Because Indigenous cultures are so diverse, it’s a good idea to have your voice heard through a club. If there are no opportunities for Indigenous involvement on your campus, try reaching out to people within your college to find out how you can start a club or organization to support Native students. 

Pro Tip from Sally M. Douglas, senior associate director of the Undergraduate Admissions Office at the Rochester Institute of Technology The college essay gives an admission committee an opportunity to learn about a student’s passions and character, and how those have shaped personal development. Colleges read thousands of applications, but essays that express resilience to challenges that have contributed to personal growth are ones that stand out the most. The essay is an opportunity to share your journey and let colleges know who you are. The Native traditions and experiences you represent are a wonderful way to demonstrate how a campus can be culturally enriched by unique ideas and perspectives. 

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College Essay on Indian Cultural Heritage

“Pray to God before your test!” is one of the most repeated phrases that my mother would say to me before I went to school. I would always wonder, “Why do we have to pray to an idol?” It never transpired to me that having a spiritual connection with a God or a higher power would help me get through struggles and even help me develop as a person. It is important to have this connection, and is something that reflects who I am today.            The values I believe in are primarily from my culture, which is Indian. Being born in India made my parents adopt these values and pass them on to me. In India, religion is a huge part of everyday life. My grandparents would go to temple almost every day, and make sure to conduct religious ceremonies for the Gods and Goddesses. Of course, I would always pray because I knew it was the right thing to do. Mostly, I would pray for a good day or if I wanted something materialistic or for my test score to be high. I never understood the mental reason that people pray. When we learn about Hinduism in school, it always seems like people pray just for the sake of praying. We learn that if we are good, we will have good karma and hopefully have a good afterlife. It almost seems selfish that people pray just because they want a good life. Shouldn’t we pray for others, or just pray because it makes us feel good? The gods in our culture did so; they were altruistic, and forgiving. But when someone did wrong, there were harsh consequences.            After I lived in India for about a year, I moved to various places. It was from Barbados to Delaware, to Virginia, to New York. Wherever I would go, my culture would follow. I remember starting Classical Indian dance from when I was five, and Classical Indian music. At first I thought it was strenuous and not easy to follow, I wanted to do ballet, or any other American dance. After a while I realized that you could learn much from these arts because they not only helped me learn how to dance, but it also helped me learn about my culture and values. The number one rule was that your teacher or guru is God. You must respect them at all times. Growing up in a strict environment was challenging but it helped me become a good person. There were many differences between my friends in school, and me. My parents certainly taught me good habits and helped me develop good thoughts.            Religion was a necessity but I grew to get very bored of it and was not seeing any positive gains from it. I would always pray to God, asking him for a good grade on a test. The next day I would end up with a grade that made me cry. I realized that maybe there is no point in praying and doing so much. I gave up and stopped praying for a while. After a while of no religion, my father gave me a talk one day, and he told me that having a spiritual connection with someone, no matter what religion follow, is very important for you. It helps you to grow and always know that there is a higher power above you that is always watching and will be there for you. Soon I came to see that we do not pray because we want things, or we want to achieve good karma. That is certainly part of it, but the other part is that we have a connection to a God that makes us feel like we are loved, and that someone is constantly watching over you. It is important to have this feeling in you. I started praying more after that, and not just for myself. I casually would talk to this “superior power” in the evenings and thank him for all the good he has done in my life. I saw that there are people that are less fortunate than we are today, and I thanked him for that. If I ever felt down, I would talk to him. Religion and culture has become part of my life. Without it, I would not know who I am today. It has helped me become a person that sees life in a bigger view, not just about myself. I still do not go to the temple regularly, or pray to God everyday, yet I know that someone is there to talk to and believe in.

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India ink | tips on american college admissions essays, from a veteran dean.

Tips on American College Admissions Essays, From a Veteran Dean

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Seth Allen is vice president and dean of admissions and financial aid at Pomona College in California, a liberal arts college. He was previously dean of admission and financial aid at Grinnell College in Iowa. This is the second post in a regular series on India Ink providing advice to prospective Indian applicants to American colleges and universities.

The essay just may be the most important aspect of your application to a United States college or university.

While your standardized test scores and grades can assure you are a competitive applicant, they won’t make you stand out in a strong applicant pool. Extracurricular activities and recommendations help inform admission committees what you do in and out of class, but rarely serve to significantly differentiate applicants unless they speak to unusual talents or characteristics.

The essay is often a deciding factor, conveying information to the admissions committee about your personality, values, creativity or other intangible qualities sought after in students.

It’s also the one component of your application where you have full control over the outcome (if you had full control over the other aspects you would have a 2400 SAT score, straight A+ grades and exams, and been to the moon and back by the time you were 12). While a great essay won’t make up for poor academic preparation or other deficiencies in an application, it can mean the difference between admission and rejection.

That said, here are seven suggestions to help you write a compelling essay:

• Let your credentials speak for themselves .  There’s no need to write an essay conveying how serious an academic you are.  Your transcript and recommendations will do that. Similarly, your extracurricular activities will speak volumes about how engaged you are.
• This is all about you.   Decide there’s something interesting or original about you that you want to convey instead of writing about a piece of history or a book you recently read.  Even if the essay prompt asks you to write about someone else or an important event, remember the underlying aim is for the admissions committee to learn about you.
•   Demonstrate, don’t tell.   Your actions and behavior can do the talking for you.  Claiming that “after participating in Model United Nations I have a much greater appreciation for other cultures” is not as compelling as writing “defending the position of other countries has convinced me that there is no single correct approach to international policy.  I now make it a point to take in world news everyday so that I am better informed about why other countries pursue policies, even if I don’t agree with those policies.”
•   Be memorable.  The answer to the question of “what’s the shortest distance between two points?” may be “a straight line,” but that doesn’t make it an interesting answer.  Surprise the reader in some way.  Perhaps acknowledge that you fit a certain profile (studious student or accomplished cricket player), but you also lead a secret life as an acrobat.  Or give the reader the pleasure of discovering something completely new about you that may not have fit neatly in your extracurricular pursuits but offers an exciting glimpse into who you are or what motivates you.  I once knew a student who had amassed the single largest private antique bottle collection in his home state and lent the collection to local museums.
•   Don’t make more of something than is warranted.   Even if it’s true, it may not be credible, and you should avoid turning seemingly trivial events into profound insights or action. Such as realizing the true value of education after failing a quiz or resolving to work towards world equality after participating in community service for one afternoon.
•   The admissions committee wants to hear from you.   It may be tempting to think there’s a right way to write the essay and rely heavily on feedback from teachers, peers or parents to “improve” your essay.  It’s fine to gauge what others think of your approach but you’d be wrong to assume that others know more about crafting the perfect essay about you than you!  Using too much feedback to write your essay runs the risk of muddying your own voice – that distinctive perspective and personality which admissions committees are eager to get to know.  It’s O.K. if it’s not what an adult would write.  After all, you are just 17 years old and if you were already perfect, there would be no need for you to go to college.
•   Think how you can leverage your native culture, traditions and experiences in your essay.   When applying to schools in the United States, don’t try to “Americanize” your application by focusing on your trip to the United States or even your participation in out of class activities prevalent in the United States. It won’t help differentiate you and may make your candidacy less appealing.  A more general mistake in essays is for the writer to try to fit into the mainstream at the school.  Writing about how interested you are in pursuing political science at a college renowned for its political science program doesn’t differentiate you from others.

What do prospective applicants make of Mr. Allen’s suggestions here? Is his take on the essay — from the perspective of someone who has read thousands of such submissions — different than you expected? Please use the comment box below to let us know. You can also tell us other topics you’d like us to explore in this series.

Meanwhile, there is another perspective on the college essay — this post written for an American audience on The Choice . Here, the college essay is compared with “a first date.” — Jacques Steinberg, Senior Editor, The Choice

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Guiding Indian Americans to Elite College Admissions

Indian American parents place a great deal of value on the quality of their children’s education. That’s why it vexes them when Indian American students who have nearly perfect academic qualifications, as demonstrated by their GPA, class rank, SAT and SAT Subject Test scores , and AP grades, are rejected by Ivy League and other top-tier institutions.

There have been lawsuits and federal agency complaints filed by Indian Americans against several top universities regarding what they perceive as a quota, but these actions have failed. The consensus in the college admissions counseling field is that the admissions offices of elite colleges consider a wide range of factors as part of their holistic approach to selection. We agree and have no doubt that, even though they don’t admit all academically gifted Indian American students, elite colleges are not applying a quota on Indian Americans or other Asian Americans.

The high number of qualified applicants to top-tier colleges from the Indian American community reflects their innate abilities, hard work, and lofty ambitions. But the disproportionate volume of very well qualified Indian American applicants has the practical effect of working against them. It’s difficult to stand out in a crowd of academically strong applicants. It’s even more difficult to stand out among high-achieving applicants that share a common ethnicity. This is because, in order to achieve their goals in student diversity, elite schools tend to prefer the skier from Oslo, the ranch-hand from Montana, the championship debater from Maryland, and the Science Olympiad winner from Rochester. In short, they seek a variety of individuals so that they may all come together to form a dynamic mix. When this is achieved, students will learn more from a diverse student body than they would otherwise.

IvySelect has successfully applied a realistic approach to admissions consulting that entails working within the diversity-focused status quo. Because we’ve had substantial experience with Indian American students, we are particularly sensitive to the ramifications of ethnic stereotyping. We work hard to guide you in identifying, developing, and focusing attention on your special talents and abilities. It’s by strategically emphasizing your distinctive talents that you’ll succeed against the competition. As a result, we help you overcome the difficulties that Indian Americans face in gaining admission to the most highly competitive institutions in the United States.

Specifically, IvySelect advises you on proven ways to elevate your personal profile above the crowd. We make each institution’s search for diversity work for you and not against you. As a result,  IvySelect has had a great deal of success in helping our Indian American students gain admission at highly selective schools including Harvard, Yale, Penn, Dartmouth, Brown, Princeton, Columbia, Cornell, Stanford, MIT, Cal Tech, Amherst, Williams, Chicago, Swarthmore, Pomona, Northwestern, Oxford – U.K., Johns Hopkins, Duke, Washington University, Rice, Georgetown, Emory, Bowdoin, Colgate, Hamilton, USC, Berkeley, UCLA, NYU, Wesleyan, Wellesley, Vassar, Barnard, Boston College, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Michigan, Texas, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Wake Forest, Tulane, Boston University, Carnegie Mellon, Harvey Mudd, Rochester, and others.

It’s extremely difficult for anyone to get accepted by an Ivy League or a similarly elite university or college. It’s especially challenging for you as an Indian American due to your need to demonstrate your potential contribution to a school’s diversity quotient by means of factors other than your ethnic background. IvySelect, as a professional college admissions consulting firm, helps to shape a singular persona for you to help you stand out from the crowd. We make sure that this persona is emphasized in your applications, especially in essays and interviews.

Under our guidance, you become a three-dimensional figure to admissions officers. You’ll appeal to them not only for your academic excellence, but also for your passionate interests and the unique personal value that you’ll bring to their campus and community.

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May 1, 2021

Indian American Discrimination in Admissions

For many years, we have argued that the way to bring about an end to Asian American discrimination in elite college admissions was through a groundswell of opposition, through a movement by the people and of the people speaking up and speaking out. When folks sought to end Asian American discrimination in admissions through the courts, we directed them to more carefully study our nation’s story. The most significant civil rights reforms in our nation’s history have begun not in the courts but with the populace — at places like The Stonewall Inn. At Selma. At Seneca Falls. And while we are devastated what has inspired our current moment, we are nonetheless delighted that, after all these years, it seems that moment is now our Asian American brothers and sisters . People are speaking up and speaking out for our fellow Asian American citizens. This makes us happy. It’s. About. Time.

But while we’re in this current moment, we thought we’d also shine a strobe-light on the fact that a subgroup of Asian Americans — South Asian Americans — also face this same discrimination in elite college admissions. It’s not as widely discussed. To our knowledge, there are no court cases against elite universities about the discrimination. We don’t even read any articles in the press about it. But it nonetheless exists. You see, when an admissions officer at an elite universities comes across an Indian American applicant who wants to be a doctor or a computer scientist, who is involved in activities like tennis or classical Indian dance or robotics, they — whether knowingly or unknowingly — so often deem this applicant uninteresting and are more likely than not to deny their case for admission. It’s not right. But it’s the case nonetheless.

And if you don’t think this discrimination against Indian American applicants exists in elite college admissions in spite of it not being spoken about much at all, look no further than the current COVID-19 crisis in India. When our country banned travel from China to the United States, the move was criticized as xenophobic and bigoted. When our country more recently banned travel from India to the United States, we barely heard a peep about it. This same phenomenon is at play in elite college admissions. Indian Americans face discrimination — discrimination we at Ivy Coach help them overcome . Yet it’s rarely discussed. Well, it’s high time someone discusses it. There’s no time like the present.

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How to Talk About Race on College Applications, According to Admissions Experts

R afael Figueroa, dean of college guidance at Albuquerque Academy, was in the middle of tutoring Native American and Native Hawaiian students on how to write college application essays when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the race-conscious college admissions processes at Harvard and the University of North Carolina are unconstitutional .

Earlier in the week, he told the students that they shouldn’t feel like they need to talk about their ethnicity in their essays. But after the June 29 Supreme Court ruling , he backtracked. “If I told you that you didn’t have to write about your native or cultural identity, you need to get ready to do another supplemental essay” on it or prepare a story that can fit into short answer questions, he says he told them.

For high school seniors of color applying to colleges in the coming years, the essay and short answer sections will take on newfound importance. Chief Justice John Roberts suggested as much when he wrote in his majority opinion, “Nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration or otherwise.” That “discussion” is usually in an essay, and many colleges have additional short-answer questions that allow students to expand more on their background and where they grew up.

“The essay is going to take up a lot more space than maybe it has in the past because people are going to be really trying to understand who this person is that is going to come into our community,” says Timothy Fields, senior associate dean of undergraduate admission at Emory University.

Now, college admissions officers are trying to figure out how to advise high schoolers on their application materials to give them the best chance to showcase their background under the new rules, which will no longer allow colleges or universities to use race as an explicit factor in admissions decisions .

Shereem Herndon-Brown, who co-wrote The Black Family’s Guide to College Admissions with Fields, says students of color can convey their racial and ethnic backgrounds by writing about their families and their upbringing. “I’ve worked with students for years who have written amazing essays about how they spend Yom Kippur with their family, which clearly signals to a college that they are Jewish—how they listened to the conversations from their grandfather about escaping parts of Europe… Their international or immigrant story comes through whether it’s from the Holocaust or Croatia or the Ukraine. These are stories that kind of smack colleges in the face about culture.”

“Right now, we’re asking Black and brown kids to smack colleges in the face about being Black and brown,” he continues. “And, admittedly, I am mixed about the necessity to do it. But I think the only way to do it is through writing.”

Read More: The ‘Infamous 96’ Know Firsthand What Happens When Affirmative Action Is Banned

Students of color who are involved in extracurriculars that are related to diversity efforts should talk about those prominently in their college essays, other experts say. Maude Bond, director of college counseling at Cate School in Santa Barbara County, California, cites one recent applicant she counseled who wrote her college essay about an internship with an anti-racism group and how it helped her highlight the experiences of Asian American Pacific Islanders in the area.

Bond also says there are plenty of ways for people of color to emphasize their resilience and describe the character traits they learned from overcoming adversity: “Living in a society where you’re navigating racism every day makes you very compassionate.” she says. “It gives you a different sense of empathy and understanding. Not having the same resources as people that you grow up with makes you more creative and innovative.” These, she argues, are characteristics students should highlight in their personal essays.

Adam Nguyen, a former Columbia University admissions officer who now counsels college applicants via his firm Ivy Link, will also encourage students of color to ask their teachers and college guidance counselors to hint at their race or ethnicity in their recommendation letters. “That’s where they could talk about your racial background,” Nguyen says. “Just because you can’t see what’s written doesn’t mean you can’t influence how or what is said about you.”

Yet as the essay portions of college applications gain more importance, the process of reading applications will take a lot longer, raising the question of whether college admissions offices have enough staffers to get through the applications. “There are not enough admission officers in the industry to read that way,” says Michael Pina, director of admission at the University of Richmond.

That could make it even more difficult for students to get the individual attention required to gain acceptance to the most elite colleges. Multiple college admissions experts say college-bound students will need to apply to a broader range of schools. “You should still apply to those 1% of colleges…but you should think about the places that are producing high-quality graduates that are less selective,” says Pina.

One thing more Black students should consider, Fields argues, is applying to historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). (In fact, Fields, a graduate of Morehouse College, claims that may now be “necessary” for some students.) “There’s something to be said, for a Black person to be in a majority environment someplace that they are celebrated, not tolerated,” Fields says. “There’s something to be said about being in an environment where you don’t have to justify why you’re here.”

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Write to Olivia B. Waxman at [email protected]

Would writing about growing up as an Indian in a mostly white populated school/community be a cliche? Answered

Hi! I'm currently struggling to come up with what to write my Common App essay about. I don't want to write about a cliche. I'm from India and I've lived in the U.S. for about 10 years. I want to write about struggles of racism and growing up around a "white mainstream" culture.

Earn karma by helping others:

If your essay is personal and offers anecdotes of your unique experiences, it's possible to write a strong essay on a common topic. That said, it's not recommended that Asians and South Asians write on topics that draw more attention to their demographics (like immigration or racism), as they already have a harder time getting admitted. It also doesn't necessarily distinguish you for other South Asian applicants. If this topic is very central to your identity and high school experience, you can certainly still write about it, but be aware of the risk. If there's another aspect of your identity you could write a meaningful essay on, which would allow you to "stand out," you might consider it. I hope this helps - it's certainly a very tricky topic. Good luck!

I think you can pull this off even if it is a very common prompt.

The thing that is going to set you apart is how it personally affected you. How you feel like your life has changed because of this. And also include what you are doing now (even if it's a change of perspective on life) that is because of how you grew up.

You can definitely make this a very impactful personal story!

Honestly, I think this is a great essay topic, especially with everything going on in the world now with racism. It would be a great way to show how growing up in the U.S. and how you grew up in a predominately white school impacted you; it would show a pretty unique perspective. Just keep in mind of the person who may read your essay. Though it's pretty sad, there still are people in the world that are racist so I would just keep in mind what you write may be considered offensive by one reader, but not by another. Writing about this would be a little risky, but if you craft the essay well enough, I think you could pull this off.

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How to Get Scholarships & Grants for Native American Students

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Updated: January 24, 2024

Featured Expert:

On This Page:

Am i eligible proving ancestry, find state aid.

• Budgeting Tips for Students
• Tribal Colleges and Universities
• Student Profile: Sasha Rivers

Tribal Aid Opens Doors

• Scholarship Application: Q&A

Additional Resources

Advertising & Editorial Disclosure

Native Americans have been underrepresented in colleges and universities across the country, partly due to low high school graduation rates among American Indians and the cost of higher education. With the typical college degree costing thousands of dollars a year, many Native American students can't afford to go to college without significant financial aid. Those who are able to attend college, often do not complete their degree at the same rate as their peers.

Recognizing the unique circumstances and needs of Native American students, many schools, nonprofits, and government agencies have stepped in to help. From tuition waivers to scholarships and grants, there are many options for Native Americans seeking to defray the cost of a college education. Below you will be able to explore an array of scholarship and financial aid opportunities and other resources available for Native American students.

Candidates must prove their ancestry when applying for scholarships and grants that are geared specifically for Native Americans. Proof varies from one scholarship to the next but key documentation bridges many programs and applications, especially for federal aid.

You will need both your birth certificate and at least one parent's enrolled tribal documents. If the descendency goes back to your grandparents, you will also need copies of as many of their birth certificates and tribal enrollment documents as you can gather. Other documents that are often accepted include an official letter from the tribe stating the enrollment status or a copy of the tribal identification card. Applicants may also need a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood which is issued by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Students will have to provide supporting documents and will then be issued a certificate that shows the student's blood quantum and tribal affiliation. (Blood quantum is the percentage of your immediate heritage comprised of tribal ancestors).

If you are unsure of your ancestry, you can trace it through family and tribal records; school, church, and county courthouse records; and by researching American Indian tribal history in your region (your local library might have sources for this). You can also search the U.S. National Archives to identify ancestors. When searching, make sure to include the name of the individual, date, and place of birth, and your relationship to that person. And, of course, capture all the information you discover so you can build a compelling case.

States with large populations of Native Americans offer state financial aid on top of the federal financial aid for which students might qualify. Sometimes that aid comes in the form of offering American Indians in-state tuition whether or not they are residents of that state. Other states offer tuition waivers and scholarships to cover room and board. Wondering what your state offers? Check out the table below for state financial aid.

Education Aid Offered by States for Native American Residents

Additional ways to save: budgeting tips for native american students.

Your monthly budget may not be the first place you think of when it comes to saving money, but there are cost-saving measures you can start applying to your spending today. The following budgeting tips will put money back into your pocket and help you build strong financial skills that can last your lifetime.

Create a Credit Card Spending Strategy Credit cards may be useful for unexpected expenses, but if you're not careful or strategic with your credit, it’s easy to rack up debt. To help keep your budget and spending on track, check out what student credit cards , prepaid cards , or gas credit cards offer to help save you money or earn cash rewards .

Estimate or Refinance Your Auto Loan Payments A new car is often one of the first big purchases college students make and one that can come with a large monthly payment. You can reduce your current monthly auto loan payment by contacting your lender or refinancing your loan. If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to a new or used car, calculate what monthly payment fits your budget before you purchase.

Find Affordable Renters Insurance While property owners and homeowners are required to have insurance , it often doesn’t cover tenants belongings in the case of a fire, theft, or vandalism. Renters insurance is a necessary, yet affordable expense. If you’re currently covered, it may be a good time to start shopping around to see where you can save.

Review Your Car Insurance Options While obtaining car insurance is legally necessary, most students don’t look into their options, coverage or discounts. It can save to shop around, especially if its been a couple of years with the same company, and compare car insurance quotes , and find out how you can apply student and good driver discounts .

Locate Affordable Health Services Health insurance costs can be expensive, but obtaining coverage can mean saving significant sums of money after an accident or health emergency. Our guide for student health insurance can help you navigate the process of finding coverage.

Tribal Colleges Offer Circles of Support

To help increase the college outcomes for American Indians, the government has designated some schools as Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs). Currently, there are over 40 fully accredited Tribal Colleges and Universities in the U.S., located mainly in the Midwest.

Tribal Colleges and Universities play an important role in many Native American communities. Often, these are the only postsecondary school around; consequently, many are instrumental in fostering American Indian culture, languages, and traditions. Students considering attending a tribal college or university can explore a range of benefits. First, many of these schools offer generous financial aid, scholarships, and grants to Native American students. The culture and programs at these schools are intended to create welcoming environments and thus present smoother transitions for American Indians, especially compared to non-tribal schools. According to the American College Fund's last findings back in 2010, as many as 86% of TCU students completed their degree programs while fewer than 10% of American Indian students who went from a reservation high school to a mainstream college finished their degree studies.

Tribal colleges and universities can be a way for Native American students to earn four-year degrees but these schools are not for everyone. Many primarily offer associate's degrees and certificate programs, which open the door for quick career qualifications but require candidates for bachelor's degrees to transfer to colleges that offer four-year programs. A handful of larger tribal colleges and universities offer bachelor's degree programs. What's more, a lot of these schools emphasize categories of study mainly intended to serve the Native American community and that might not have wider value in the job marketplace. Majors or concentrations in health, administration, addiction counseling, tribal housing, education, and preserving Native American language and arts are valuable for tribal culture and advancement, but each student must consider the cost of attaining these degrees compared to the range of careers they might pursue with those degrees.

Student Profile: Merging Tribal Heritage and STEM

"I took what others may see as a disadvantage and turned it into an advantage. Being a woman in the STEM field, as well as coming from a rich cultural history, I knew I had found my edge."

Rivers believes she also had an edge due to her community service, volunteer work, and the network she built in the process. "Volunteering gives a student real-world experience (i.e. practice) and skills necessary for future employment such as leadership, teamwork, and effective communication," she says. In her essay, she credited help she received from mentors, instructors and supporters that assisted throughout the process — and how she has and intends to continue paying it forward

So what does Rivers think students should do to get an edge in their scholarship search process? She says students need to be honest and inspiring.

"Know your strengths and weaknesses and tell your audience the story of how you've called upon them to overcome obstacles," she says. "Remember your identity and where you come from. To my fellow tribal students, be proud of your heritage and use your tribal language."

Tribes often step in with additional financial aid for their members, especially for students who are not eligible for any scholarships or grants from the school they are attending or from the various non-profits focused on Native Americans. While the aid amounts can be small, each tribe handles funding differently in terms of the amount of aid and application deadlines. Each student must check with his or her own tribe to confirm both the availability of aid and the process for winning aid. Here's a look at how three tribes channel student financial aid to their members.

The Cherokee Nation provides scholarship aid to enrolled members who are pursuing bachelor's degrees. Recipients must perform volunteer hours based on the amount of funding they are receiving: If they receive $2,000 in aid, the student would be required to volunteer for 20 hours. The community service can be completed with a non-profit organization or at a Cherokee Nation sponsored event. The volunteer work must be humanitarian or community-based.

The Navajo Nation offers scholarships and financial assistance to eligible Navajo people. Assistance varies with some scholarship amounts from $1,000 to $5,000 annually. Upon graduation, recipients are expected to return to the Navajo Nation to apply what they have learned to benefit the development of the Navajo Nation.

The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe provides assistance in the form of grants. For instance, the tribe offers the Higher Education Program to deliver additional financial aid to eligible Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Members.

Scholarship Application: Questions and Answers

Catching The Dream Helps Native American students find, apply and get into school and provides resources to help find and win scholarships, grants, and other aid. Provides students with tips on everything from finding money to crafting a winning college essay.

Trace Indian Ancestry Provided by the U.S. Department of the Interior, this website provides information for Native Americans to determine if they are eligible members in a federally recognized tribe.

About MoneyGeek Team

The MoneyGeek editorial team has decades of combined experience in writing and publishing information about how people should manage money and credit. Our editors have worked with numerous publications including The Washington Post, The Daily Business Review, HealthDay and Time, Inc., and have won numerous journalism awards. Our talented team of contributing writers includes mortgage experts, veteran financial reporters and award-winning journalists. Learn more about the MoneyGeek team.

• News and Events > News > U.S. and Indian Naval War Colleges to Co-Host Regional Alumni Symposium

U.S. and Indian Naval War Colleges to Co-Host Regional Alumni Symposium

Newport, RI – The U.S. Naval War College (NWC) and Indian Naval War College will hold the Indo-American Naval War College Conference in Goa, India, April 16-18.

The conference is part of NWC’s regional alumni symposium (RAS) series and marks the 21st RAS since the program’s inception.

Participation in the Indo-American Naval War College Conference is open to select international alumni and invited guests and will feature keynote speeches by prominent military and political leaders and academics. Attendees will also view presentations given by NWC alumni, U.S. and Indian Navy scholars and practitioners, and other subject matter experts from around the Indo-Pacific region.

NWC’s regional alumni symposia are designed to promote professional military education as a lifelong pursuit. They also serve to foster professional interaction among rising military leaders and allow graduates to take advantage of and nurture the relations formed during their time at NWC.

NWC delivers excellence in education, research, and outreach, informing today’s decision-makers and educating tomorrow’s leaders. The college provides educational experiences and learning opportunities that develop students’ ability to anticipate and prepare strategically for the future, strengthen the foundations of peace, and create a decisive warfighting advantage.

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Indian and U.S. Naval War Colleges Co-Host Indo-Pacific Regional Alumni Symposium Apr. 19, 2024

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U.S. Naval War College Hosts 14th Flag and Executive Leader Implementation Course Apr. 12, 2024

Senior Leaders Graduate from NWC’s Spring Executive Level Operational Level of Warfare Course Apr. 02, 2024

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Senior leaders graduate from nwc’s spring executive level operational level of warfare course, u.s. naval war college hosts 14th flag and executive leader implementation course, lectures of opportunity: "operational contract support to eucom and ukraine", the influence of foreign wars on u.s. domestic military policy: the case of the yom kippur war.

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Guest Essay

The Troubling Trend in Teenage Sex

By Peggy Orenstein

Ms. Orenstein is the author of “Boys & Sex: Young Men on Hookups, Love, Porn, Consent and Navigating the New Masculinity” and “Girls & Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape.”

Debby Herbenick is one of the foremost researchers on American sexual behavior. The director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University and the author of the pointedly titled book “Yes, Your Kid,” she usually shares her data, no matter how explicit, without judgment. So I was surprised by how concerned she seemed when we checked in on Zoom recently: “I haven’t often felt so strongly about getting research out there,” she told me. “But this is lifesaving.”

For the past four years, Dr. Herbenick has been tracking the rapid rise of “rough sex” among college students, particularly sexual strangulation, or what is colloquially referred to as choking. Nearly two-thirds of women in her most recent campus-representative survey of 5,000 students at an anonymized “major Midwestern university” said a partner had choked them during sex (one-third in their most recent encounter). The rate of those women who said they were between the ages 12 and 17 the first time that happened had shot up to 40 percent from one in four.

As someone who’s been writing for well over a decade about young people’s attitudes and early experience with sex in all its forms, I’d also begun clocking this phenomenon. I was initially startled in early 2020 when, during a post-talk Q. and A. at an independent high school, a 16-year-old girl asked, “How come boys all want to choke you?” In a different class, a 15-year-old boy wanted to know, “Why do girls all want to be choked?” They do? Not long after, a college sophomore (and longtime interview subject) contacted me after her roommate came home in tears because a hookup partner, without warning, had put both hands on her throat and squeezed.

I started to ask more, and the stories piled up. Another sophomore confided that she enjoyed being choked by her boyfriend, though it was important for a partner to be “properly educated” — pressing on the sides of the neck, for example, rather than the trachea. (Note: There is no safe way to strangle someone.) A male freshman said “girls expected” to be choked and, even though he didn’t want to do it, refusing would make him seem like a “simp.” And a senior in high school was angry that her friends called her “vanilla” when she complained that her boyfriend had choked her.

Sexual strangulation, nearly always of women in heterosexual pornography, has long been a staple on free sites, those default sources of sex ed for teens . As with anything else, repeat exposure can render the once appalling appealing. It’s not uncommon for behaviors to be normalized in porn, move within a few years to mainstream media, then, in what may become a feedback loop, be adopted in the bedroom or the dorm room.

Choking, Dr. Herbenick said, seems to have made that first leap in a 2008 episode of Showtime’s “Californication,” where it was still depicted as outré, then accelerated after the success of “Fifty Shades of Grey.” By 2019, when a high school girl was choked in the pilot of HBO’s “Euphoria,” it was standard fare. A young woman was choked in the opener of “The Idol” (again on HBO and also, like “Euphoria,” created by Sam Levinson; what’s with him ?). Ali Wong plays the proclivity for laughs in a Netflix special, and it’s a punchline in Tina Fey’s new “Mean Girls.” The chorus of Jack Harlow’s “Lovin On Me,” which topped Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for six nonconsecutive weeks this winter and has been viewed over 99 million times on YouTube, starts with, “I’m vanilla, baby, I’ll choke you, but I ain’t no killer, baby.” How-to articles abound on the internet, and social media algorithms feed young people (but typically not their unsuspecting parents) hundreds of #chokemedaddy memes along with memes that mock — even celebrate — the potential for hurting or killing female partners.

I’m not here to kink-shame (or anything-shame). And, anyway, many experienced BDSM practitioners discourage choking, believing it to be too dangerous. There are still relatively few studies on the subject, and most have been done by Dr. Herbenick and her colleagues. Reports among adolescents are now trickling out from the United Kingdom , Australia , Iceland , New Zealand and Italy .

Twenty years ago, sexual asphyxiation appears to have been unusual among any demographic, let alone young people who were new to sex and iffy at communication. That’s changed radically in a short time, with health consequences that parents, educators, medical professionals, sexual consent advocates and teens themselves urgently need to understand.

Sexual trends can spread quickly on campus and, to an extent, in every direction. But, at least among straight kids, I’ve sometimes noticed a pattern: Those that involve basic physical gratification — like receiving oral sex in hookups — tend to favor men. Those that might entail pain or submission, like choking, are generally more for women.

So, while undergrads of all genders and sexualities in Dr. Herbenick’s surveys report both choking and being choked, straight and bisexual young women are far more likely to have been the subjects of the behavior; the gap widens with greater occurrences. (In a separate study , Dr. Herbenick and her colleagues found the behavior repeated across the United States, particularly for adults under 40, and not just among college students.) Alcohol may well be involved, and while the act is often engaged in with a steady partner, a quarter of young women said partners they’d had sex with on the day they’d met also choked them.

Either way, most say that their partners never or only sometimes asked before grabbing their necks. For many, there had been moments when they couldn’t breathe or speak, compromising the ability to withdraw consent, if they’d given it. No wonder that, in a separate study by Dr. Herbenick, choking was among the most frequently listed sex acts young women said had scared them, reporting that it sometimes made them worry whether they’d survive.

Among girls and women I’ve spoken with, many did not want or like to be sexually strangled, though in an otherwise desired encounter they didn’t name it as assault . Still, a sizable number were enthusiastic; they requested it. It is exciting to feel so vulnerable, a college junior explained. The power dynamic turns her on; oxygen deprivation to the brain can trigger euphoria.

That same young woman, incidentally, had never climaxed with a partner: While the prevalence of choking has skyrocketed, rates of orgasm among young women have not increased, nor has the “orgasm gap” disappeared among heterosexual couples. “It indicates they’re not doing other things to enhance female arousal or pleasure,” Dr. Herbenick said.

When, for instance, she asked one male student who said he choked his partner whether he’d ever tried using a vibrator instead, he recoiled. “Why would I do that?” he asked.

Perhaps, she responded, because it would be more likely to produce orgasm without risking, you know, death.

In my interviews, college students have seen male orgasm as a given; women’s is nice if it happens, but certainly not expected or necessarily prioritized (by either partner). It makes sense, then, that fulfillment would be less the motivator for choking than appearing adventurous or kinky. Such performances don’t always feel good.

“Personally, my hypothesis is that this is one of the reasons young people are delaying or having less sex,” Dr. Herbenick said. “Because it’s uncomfortable and weird and scary. At times some of them literally think someone is assaulting them but they don’t know. Those are the only sexual experiences for some people. And it’s not just once they’ve gotten naked. They’ll say things like, ‘I’ve only tried to make out with someone once because he started choking and hitting me.’”

Keisuke Kawata, a neuroscientist at Indiana University’s School of Public Health, was one of the first researchers to sound the alarm on how the cumulative, seemingly inconsequential, sub-concussive hits football players sustain (as opposed to the occasional hard blow) were key to triggering C.T.E., the degenerative brain disease. He’s a good judge of serious threats to the brain. In response to Dr. Herbenick’s work, he’s turning his attention to sexual strangulation. “I see a similarity” to C.T.E., he told me, “though the mechanism of injury is very different.” In this case, it is oxygen-blocking pressure to the throat, frequently in light, repeated bursts of a few seconds each.

Strangulation — sexual or otherwise — often leaves few visible marks and can be easily overlooked as a cause of death. Those whose experiences are nonlethal rarely seek medical attention, because any injuries seem minor: Young women Dr. Herbenick studied mostly reported lightheadedness, headaches, neck pain, temporary loss of coordination and ear ringing. The symptoms resolve, and all seems well. But, as with those N.F.L. players, the true effects are silent, potentially not showing up for days, weeks, even years.

According to the American Academy of Neurology, restricting blood flow to the brain, even briefly, can cause permanent injury, including stroke and cognitive impairment. In M.R.I.s conducted by Dr. Kawata and his colleagues (including Dr. Herbenick, who is a co-author of his papers on strangulation), undergraduate women who have been repeatedly choked show a reduction in cortical folding in the brain compared with a never-choked control group. They also showed widespread cortical thickening, an inflammation response that is associated with elevated risk of later-onset mental illness. In completing simple memory tasks, their brains had to work far harder than the control group, recruiting from more regions to achieve the same level of accuracy.

The hemispheres in the choked group’s brains, too, were badly skewed, with the right side hyperactive and the left underperforming. A similar imbalance is associated with mood disorders — and indeed in Dr. Herbenick’s surveys girls and women who had been choked were more likely than others (or choked men) to have experienced overwhelming anxiety, as well as sadness and loneliness, with the effect more pronounced as the incidence rose: Women who had experienced more than five instances of choking were two and a half times as likely as those who had never been choked to say they had been so depressed within the previous 30 days they couldn’t function. Whether girls and women with mental health challenges are more likely to seek out (or be subjected to) choking, choking causes mood disorders, or some combination of the two is still unclear. But hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation — judging by what research has shown about other types of traumatic brain injury — could be a contributing factor. Given the soaring rates of depression and anxiety among young women, that warrants concern.

Now consider that every year Dr. Herbenick has done her survey, the number of females reporting extreme effects from strangulation (neck swelling, loss of consciousness, losing control of urinary function) has crept up. Among those who’ve been choked, the rate of becoming what students call “cloudy” — close to passing out, but not crossing the line — is now one in five, a huge proportion. All of this indicates partners are pressing on necks longer and harder.

The physical, cognitive and psychological impacts of sexual choking are disturbing. So is the idea that at a time when women’s social, economic, educational and political power are in ascent (even if some of those rights may be in jeopardy), when #MeToo has made progress against harassment and assault, there has been the popularization of a sex act that can damage our brains, impair intellectual functioning, undermine mental health, even kill us. Nonfatal strangulation, one of the most significant indicators that a man will murder his female partner (strangulation is also one of the most common methods used for doing so), has somehow been eroticized and made consensual, at least consensual enough. Yet, the outcomes are largely the same: Women’s brains and bodies don’t distinguish whether they are being harmed out of hate or out of love.

By now I’m guessing that parents are curled under their chairs in a fetal position. Or perhaps thinking, “No, not my kid!” (see: title of Dr. Herbenick’s book above, which, by the way, contains an entire chapter on how to talk to your teen about “rough sex”).

I get it. It’s scary stuff. Dr. Herbenick is worried; I am, too. And we are hardly some anti-sex, wait-till-marriage crusaders. But I don’t think our only option is to wring our hands over what young people are doing.

Parents should take a beat and consider how they might give their children relevant information in a way that they can hear it. Maybe reiterate that they want them to have a pleasurable sex life — you have already said that, right? — and also want them to be safe. Tell them that misinformation about certain practices, including choking, is rampant, that in reality it has grave health consequences. Plus, whether or not a partner initially requested it, if things go wrong, you’re generally criminally on the hook.

Dr. Herbenick suggests reminding them that there are other, lower-risk ways to be exploratory or adventurous if that is what they are after, but it would be wisest to delay any “rough sex” until they are older and more skilled at communicating. She offers language when negotiating with a new partner, such as, “By the way, I’m not comfortable with” — choking, or other escalating behaviors such as name-calling, spitting and genital slapping — “so please don’t do it/don’t ask me to do it to you.” They could also add what they are into and want to do together.

I’d like to point high school health teachers to evidence-based porn literacy curricula, but I realize that incorporating such lessons into their classrooms could cost them their jobs. Shafia Zaloom, a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, recommends, if that’s the case, grounding discussions in mainstream and social media. There are plenty of opportunities. “You can use it to deconstruct gender norms, power dynamics in relationships, ‘performative’ trends that don’t represent most people’s healthy behaviors,” she said, “especially depictions of people putting pressure on someone’s neck or chest.”

I also know that pediatricians, like other adults, struggle when talking to adolescents about sex (the typical conversation, if it happens, lasts 40 seconds). Then again, they already caution younger children to use a helmet when they ride a bike (because heads and necks are delicate!); they can mention that teens might hear about things people do in sexual situations, including choking, then explain the impact on brain health and why such behavior is best avoided. They should emphasize that if, for any reason — a fall, a sports mishap or anything else — a young person develops symptoms of head trauma, they should come in immediately, no judgment, for help in healing.

The role and responsibility of the entertainment industry is a tangled knot: Media reflects behavior but also drives it, either expanding possibilities or increasing risks. There is precedent for accountability. The European Union now requires age verification on the world’s largest porn sites (in ways that preserve user privacy, whatever that means on the internet); that discussion, unsurprisingly, had been politicized here. Social media platforms have already been pushed to ban content promoting eating disorders, self-harm and suicide — they should likewise be pressured to ban content promoting choking. Traditional formats can stop glamorizing strangulation, making light of it, spreading false information, using it to signal female characters’ complexity or sexual awakening. Young people’s sexual scripts are shaped by what they watch, scroll by and listen to — unprecedentedly so. They deserve, and desperately need, models of interactions that are respectful, communicative, mutual and, at the very least, safe.

Peggy Orenstein is the author of “Boys & Sex: Young Men on Hookups, Love, Porn, Consent and Navigating the New Masculinity” and “Girls & Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape.”

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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An earlier version of this article misstated the network on which “Californication” first appeared. It is Showtime, not HBO. The article also misspelled a book and film title. It is “Fifty Shades of Grey,” not “Fifty Shades of Gray.”

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Additional Scholarship Updates for 2024

Apr 18, 2024 | Blog , Inside the College Fund , Student Success

Our Scholarships Update is a monthly round up of scholarship opportunities that may be of interest to Native students. The newsletter includes resources from partner organizations along with information on the College Fund’s scholarship programming. The Scholarships Update is published the last Tuesday of every month, and you can subscribe by visiting collegefund.org/stay-connected.

Please note that the College Fund cannot answer questions regarding scholarships offered by third parties. Questions should be directed to the affiliate linked in the newsletter. If you have a new opportunity you’d like for the College Fund to share or other suggestions for newsletter content, please contact us at [email protected] . Don’t pass up this chance to get all of your funding updates in one place.

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Isabella Madrigal has a vision: storytelling that’s compelling, inspires better, more equitable world

Eileen O’Grady

Harvard Staff Writer

Part of the Commencement 2024 series

A collection of stories covering Harvard University’s 373rd Commencement.

A family sits around a fire pit in their backyard on the Cahuilla reservation in Southern California in a scene from “Menil and Her Heart,” Isabella Madrigal’s thesis screenplay.

“Do you know who gave the arts to the Cahuilla people?” the father asks his two daughters. Menil, the youngest, says no, and the father tells the story of her namesake, Menil, the moon maiden, who “painted the world into being.”

Weaving together old family traditions of oral storytelling with modern mediums like screenwriting and acting is a skill Madrigal ’24, an English concentrator with a psychology secondary, has honed for many years.

The Adams House resident from Temecula, California, is an enrolled member of the Cahuilla Band of Indians, and of Anishinaabe, Turtle Mountain Ojibwe descent. An emerging screenwriter and actress, Madrigal has appeared in Marvel’s “Echo” (2024) TV miniseries and the show “Rutherford Falls” (2021-2022) and wants to increase Native representation onscreen and amplify overlooked voices and narratives.

“If you only have a very limited idea of who you can be — what previous media has shown — that impacts artistic creation and how you show up in the world,” Madrigal said.

It’s a different direction from where she started at Harvard. Madrigal had begun on a pre-med track, but the absence of an artistic outlet left a void. Her decision to shift her focus to arts and humanities ended up “really changing my Harvard experience,” she said.

“This idea of community- building and community-healing was always something I knew I wanted to do,” Madrigal said. “I saw an opportunity for that in medicine, but being at Harvard I’ve been able to see there are so many ways that you can engage in that kind of work.”

“I feel very different than when I came into Harvard. I have a better understanding of what I want to do and what values I have in a career space.”

Her favorite classes included “ Indigenous Sci Fi, Horror, Fantasy, and Futurisms ,” with Associate Professor of English Christopher Pexa , and “The Essay Film” with Assistant Professor Sky Hopinka in the Art, Film, and Visual Studies Department . While an undergraduate, Madrigal has participated in the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club and Natives at Harvard College .  

“As one of the vice presidents of Natives at Harvard College, Isabella is a leader in our community,” said Jordan Clark, assistant director of the Harvard University Native American Program. “Creating space for new students to find community, providing programming, and always showing up to support other students when they need it — she plays an important role as a mentor and role model.”

Madrigal’s senior thesis screenplay, a genre-bending family drama full of magical realism, centers the issues of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and two-spirit people.

When teenage Menil suddenly goes missing, her devastated family is met with indifference from local law enforcement. Older sister Nesune travels to a parallel universe to search for her, and there she discovers all the Cahuilla stories from her memory are real.

For Madrigal, who has been developing the story since age 16, the screenplay is a way to raise awareness about a crisis. The National Crime Information Center noted 5,712 reports of missing Native women and girls in 2016, and a 2018 report by the Urban Indian Health Institute identified 506 missing and murder cases across 71 U.S. cities. Abigail Echo-Hawk, the report’s co-author, was one of Madrigal’s mentors during the project.

“Theater has an incredible capacity to engage audience members and actors with social issues, inspire hope, and incite change,” said Madrigal, who hopes to one day see the screenplay become a feature film.

Madrigal staged an early play version of “Menil and Her Heart” in high school, starring her sister Sophia Madrigal ’26 and their father, Luke Madrigal.

Luke, who was instrumental in preserving the tradition of Cahuilla bird singing, passed away four months before Isabella started at Harvard. For the oldest daughter, much of her work is about honoring his legacy.

“Some of the strongest memories I have are doing that [play] together,” Madrigal said. “This project feels like it’s so wrapped up in him, which is why I see it continuing with me for so long.”

Madrigal got experience with Native-directed projects through roles in the small-town sitcom “Rutherford Falls,” filmed during sophomore winter recess, and in “Echo” the summer before her junior year. In “Echo” she played a younger version of the superhero’s grandmother Chula (Tantoo Cardinal) in a flashback scene of a dramatic birth.

“It was top secret. I didn’t have the script until a couple days before,” Madrigal recalled. “I’ve never given birth! I was asking everybody — my mom, my aunts — if they could share any tips.”

Madrigal said she has been thrilled to see more Native projects in recent years.

“Without that surge, which was decades in the making by native creators, I wouldn’t have been able to have these roles,” Madrigal said. “Native script writers and directors open up opportunities for so many more people.”

An essential part of filmmaking, Madrigal said, is working with communities to tell their stories in a responsible way, a skill she cultivated in the Harvard class “ Get Real: The Art of Community-Based Film,” with associate senior lecturer on screenwriting Musa Syeed , who was also Madrigal’s thesis adviser.

“Part of the responsibility of telling that story requires conversations with culture bearers, with elders,” Madrigal said. “For me, that looked like talking through the story with people, sharing intention.”

After Commencement, Madrigal plans to shoot “Menil and Her Heart” as a short with the help of a Culture Bearer grant she was awarded by the Center for Cultural Power and the California Arts Council .

“I feel very different than when I came into Harvard,” Madrigal said. “I have a better understanding of what I want to do and what values I have in a career space. I thought an ‘artist’ was somebody who had to fit into one box. Seeing that you can do so many different things as an interdisciplinary artist has been amazing to discover.”

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