Baldwin School’s Krisangi Bhargava is Main Line Student of the Week – Main Line
A senior at Baldwin School, last summer Krisangi Bhargava led, with a peer, an entrepreneurship camp for more than 40 middle school girls in partnership with Bryn Mawr College. She also participated in the Germination Project Fellowship in 2020. In 2019, she developed an independent research project through the Teen Research in Environmental Education and Science (TREES) program at the University of Pennsylvania regarding the impact of fracking on PA watersheds. In 2020, she was a member of the Congressional Youth Cabinet – District 5, where she worked under Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon in a bipartisan group. Bhargava also recently completed an 8 month IBM Quantum Computing Course. In 2019, she worked at Drexel University’s Robot Springboard, where she was a high school instructor to 36 middle school girls, developed lesson plans, taught NXT Robotics Programming, and empowered young girls to continue their involvement in STEM. She has received the following awards: Junior Humanities and Science Symposium (JSHS) first place regional winner, JSHS undergraduate tuition scholarship winner, National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) three-time Regional Affiliate Award winner, and DECA entrepreneurship second place state co-winner. At Baldwin, she is a senior head of the DECA Business Club and a Lamplighter (school tour group) member.
Main Line Media News: Tell us a little about the entrepreneurship camp in partnership with Bryn Mawr College – what you wanted to accomplish and your most memorable experience at the camp.
Krisangi Bhargava: I am super passionate about encouraging middle school girls to pursue STEM and business opportunities, and I wanted to accomplish a tangible effect on my direct community. A peer and I reached out to Bryn Mawr College’s Department of Technology Outreach to initiate this camp. We developed the curriculum for the program, which had the students learn about market research, idea generation, and wireframe development, while simultaneously working in groups to create business prototypes. They also had the opportunity to hear from guest speakers from Google, Squarespace, JP Morgan, and Facebook. My most memorable experience was interacting with the girls during our breaks — especially the international students. Our camp had a global impact, as we had students from Pakistan, Moldava, and Canada!
Main Line Media News: What do you think was the most important thing you learned through the Germination Project Fellowship?
Krisangi Bhargava: The Germination Project is an initiative that partners with the University of Pennsylvania to create a lifelong fellowship of bright leaders committed to improving the city of Philadelphia. As fellows, we collaborate on projects revolving around civic commitment. My favorite experience was the projects I worked on during the boot camp — a manifesto of diversity and inclusion measures for the Philadelphia Museum of Art and a COVID-19 data science project. Through both of these experiences, I learned valuable skills about successfully working in a group to achieve a common goal.
Main Line Media News: What was the most interesting thing you learned in your independent research project through TREES?
Krisangi Bhargava: In the summer of 2019, I was a student intern in Dr. Jeffrey Field’s lab at the University of Pennsylvania, where I leveraged big data and Python to analyze the impact of fracking on watersheds in Pennsylvania. I found 46 sites in violation of local laws regarding pollution and took my findings to a science fair, where I won first place and competed on a national level. It was super interesting to see how data science can be used to solve real world problems, like chemical pollution, and how Python can be used to automate tasks. In 2020 and 2021, I returned to the program as a high school mentor and worked with the next round of student interns to develop computer-based projects.
Main Line Media News: In 2019, you worked at Drexel University’s Robot Springboard, where you were a high school instructor to 36 middle school girls. You developed lesson plans, taught NXT Robotics Programming, and empowered young girls to continue their involvement in STEM, while also developing public speaking, teaching, and coding skills. What did you find to be the most rewarding/challenging aspect of that job?
Krisangi Bhargava: Having control over lesson plans and interacting with the girls was my favorite part of the camp, and seeing the excitement on the girls’ faces when they finally got the robot to move was beyond rewarding. On the other hand, it was challenging at times to pique their interest continuously. At one point, I could sense some boredom running through the classroom, so I quickly added in a section about technology’s integration into societal issues. The assignment was now to identify a prevalent societal problem and prototype a solution that included technology. My group had an engaging discussion about gun violence, and it was nice to see them understand that technology is more than writing code.
Main Line Media News: What do you like best about being a student at The Baldwin School?
Krisangi Bhargava: The best part of being a Baldwin girl is the strong sense of community throughout the school. It’s so nice to continuously feel supported and know that your peers are rooting for you. I also love how rigorous and thought-provoking all of the courses are, and how we’re always encouraged to voice our opinions.
Main Line Media News: What is your favorite book, and why? Who is your favorite author, and why?
Krisangi Bhargava: My favorite book is Paper Towns by John Green, as it’s a classic “coming of age” story with an interesting mystery weaved into it. I love how it highlights the struggles of high school while also emphasizing an adventurous and unpredictable storyline. My favorite author is Laurie Halse Anderson, primarily because she does a great job of discussing complex, controversial, and overlooked topics in her work.
(To be selected as Main Line Student of the Week, a student must first be nominated by his or her school.)