Mahomet-Seymour’s Mrinali Kesavadas named Class of 2020 Valedictorian
Editor’s Note: Last week we highlighted Annie Bao, the Class of 2020 Salutatorian. Read her story here.
By FRED KRONER
Mrinali Kesavadas had an education both inside and outside the walls of Mahomet-Seymour High School.
This was true even before the final semester of her final year was cut short due to COVID-19, which resulted in all students learning remotely from home for most of the last two months.
She juggled school work with other interests and excelled all the way around. Kesavadas wound up as the valedictorian for the M-S Class of 2020.
“The key to maintaining a balance with everything was being immersed in the things I loved,” Kesavadas said.
In addition to taking classes – eight of which were Advanced Placement courses – and playing tennis at M-S, Kesavadas participated with both the WYSE and Science Olympiad teams at the high school. She was also a four-year member of the Principal Advisory Council.
“Outside my school, I was the Youth Ambassador and a board member of the Mid-Illinois American Cancer Society since ninth grade,” she said. “I also volunteered at Carle Hospital during my summers.”
That isn’t everything.
“I was also deeply involved in two research projects for the past three years at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign,” Kesavadas said. “One of the projects got me a co-authorship on an upcoming journal paper, and for my second project, I got an opportunity to present my findings at an international conference in Berlin last year.”
The key to being both effective and successful required creating a plan and sticking to it.
“All this was only possible by managing my time carefully,” Kesavadas said. “Sometimes it meant saying no to a friend’s invite because I had to go to the lab to finish my research, but in the end, it paid off as I got admission into some highly competitive colleges (such as Cal Tech, University of Pennsylvania and Northwestern, among others).
“Also, making lists and carefully planning out a schedule helped me to stay organized and efficient.”
Though Kesavadas was a straight-A student throughout junior high school, becoming the valedictorian of her class was not an objective as she started her freshman year.
“It was never my goal to be a valedictorian before high school,” she said. “In fact, I don’t think I even thought about my rank coming into high school.
“I was actually very surprised when I saw that my rank was first after my final exams in ninth grade.”
Her family provided encouragement, but not pressure.
“My parents always told me to do my best, and that is what I strived to do,” Kesavadas said. “For me, getting good grades was easy in junior high, so I never thought too much about it.
“In high school, I had a heavy course load starting my sophomore year, so I had to work hard to get the best possible grades.”
She didn’t make it easier on herself by selecting classes that would not be challenging. She needed to make a time commitment to persevere.
“I took the toughest courses that were offered in the school,” she said. “It required a lot of studying at home. I probably studied three to four hours when possible between my tennis team practices, science club activities, and other extracurricular activities.”
Kesavadas and the M-S salutatorian, Annie Bao, had connections beyond their rank as the top two students in the M-S Class of 2020.
Since they were freshmen, they were frequently doubles partners in tennis.
“I think it was a coincidence that both the valedictorian and salutatorian were from the tennis team,” Kesavadas said. “Even though there is no correlation between tennis and grades, I will say that tennis is a great sport to be a part of since you can continue playing this game throughout your life.”
Interestingly, both Kesavadas and Bao earned all A’s throughout their years at M-S with just one A-minus. For each, it came during their second semester of Advanced Placement U.S. History.
“My toughest class was AP U.S. History because there was a lot of reading and rereading of the textbook,” Kesavadas said.
“My favorite class was AP Physics because it was really interesting to be able to apply some of the calculus concepts that I learned to practical science applications. I also really enjoyed AP Biology.”
In addition to the AP classes offered at her high school, Kesavadas was concurrently taking a class at the UI and said, “I’m reaching the end of my online Calculus 3 class.”
Her final high school grade-point average was 5.55913 on a weighted scale.
Knowing that she had been ranked first in her class since her freshman year provided extra motivation, especially for her final year.
“I did feel pressure to maintain my rank in the sense that I had already been first up until then, and I didn’t want to lose my rank after working so hard throughout high school to keep it,” she said.
There was no chance for any changes to take place concerning class rank during the final semester when grades were not calculated. However, knowing that the year-end tests were still taking place enabled her to keep her focus.
Kesavadas said the staff and administrators helped make the remote learning go well.
“My teachers and principal helped us to transition very easily to online classes,” she said. “My teachers were always available whenever I had any doubts or questions.
“Even though all of my classes became Pass/Fail, I still had to work just as hard since I knew that AP tests were approaching.”
Kesavadas was disappointed to miss out on the many activities that are typically scheduled during the final semester.
“I was sad that I wouldn’t be able to see my friends at school every day,” she said. “There were also some events that I was upset weren’t taking place anymore, like the Great America trip and our senior breakfast.”
She understood – and accepted – the reasons behind the cancellations.
“I knew this was the best way for all of us to stay safe,” Kesavadas said.
There’s one tradition that she won’t have to forego. Valedictorians give a speech at graduation.
Though Kesavadas won’t get the chance to speak at Krannert, where graduation ceremonies have been held in recent years, her voice will still be heard.
“I still did give a speech which was recorded and will be in the graduation video on May 22,” she said.
The next step for Kesavadas is to enroll at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, “as a part of the Pre-Professional Scholars Program (PPSP), which is a combined BS/MD program,” she said.
She plans to pursue a dream she has envisioned for years.
“I have always wanted to be a doctor from a young age,” Kesavadas said. “I will major in biology, and I have a guaranteed seat at the Case Western School of Medicine.
“Since now I don’t have to worry about the MCAT exam or interviews for medical colleges, I have the flexibility to pursue some of my other academic interests.”
She recognizes that her future learning could cover about as many years as she has had in her past.
“In 10-12 years, I will probably be in a residency program,” she said.
Mrinali Kesavadas isn’t the only family member to miss out on an official graduation ceremony in 2020. That fact could weigh more on her parents than herself or her sibling.
“My parents have been my biggest supporters,” she said. “They not only missed seeing me graduate, but they also missed seeing my brother graduate from medical school due to this pandemic.
“However, they are not disappointed and have taken all of this in the right spirit.”
Her brother, Tushar Kesavadas, graduated from Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine and has a biomedical engineering degree from Northwestern University.
