A nine-year-old Indian-American schoolgirl, Samedha Saxena, has been named as one of the ‘world’s brightest’ students by the United States-based Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY). The Grade 4 student at Battery Park City School in New York City was assessed in an above-grade-level exam, used by CTY to identify advanced students across the world and analyse their academic abilities.
According to the university’s press release, Samedha took the 2021-22 test along with 15,300 students from 76 countries. Of the total children who participated, less than 27 percent bagged high or grand honours as per their scores.
The prodigy was recognised for her outstanding performance on the SAT (formerly the Scholastic Aptitude Test), ACT, School and College Ability Test, or similar assessment taken as part of the CTY Talent Search. She received the honour after being one of the youngest to qualify for the program at the age of 8 in 2022.
CTY executive director, Dr Amy Shelton, extended congratulations by noting that the recognition is a ‘salute to the students’ love for learning and all the knowledge they have accumulated in their young lives so far’. She added that an exciting future awaits the kids, who will use their potential to follow their passions, achieve remarkable dreams and benefit the society.
Meanwhile, another Indian-American schoolgirl, Natasha perianayagam, was honoured as the ‘world’s brightest’ for the second consecutive year by CTY. The 13-year-old student of Florence M Gaudineer Middle School in New Jersey attempted the test in 2021, when she was a grade 5 student. Natasha’s parents, who hail from Chennai, said that the youngster enjoys doodling and reading JRR Tolkien’s novels, PTI reported.
Nine-year-old Aaryaveer Kochhar from New Delhi also featured in the gifted students list. A student of Raghubir Singh Junior Modern School, Aaryaveer reportedly received ‘grand honours’.
