2014-2015 SENIOR FAREWELL - PART IV

Karisma Dev,

you have touched my heart & my life 

 like no other student in the 36 years  since I've been teaching.

You came to me as a shy 7th grader 

who stood out because of your creativity on each  and every assignment.

I definitely took notice.

Who was this youngster who was thriving,

attentive,

hardworking and respectful,

who clearly had a gift?

Little did I know at the time

 what a big part of my life you would become.

You mother,

Joodhi,

 saw it too.

She watched you blossom into a young artist in a short 8 weeks

in that 7th grade class.

You both were hooked.

So much so

 that your mother fought to have you in my classes

 all six years of your Whitney career.

You were the first!

No parent had ever convinced a counselor, 

at the # 1 Academic High School in the State of California,

# 10th in the Nation,

to allow their child to take six straight years of art & crafts.

Unheard of.

But then no one had ever come up against Joodhi Sood  :)

With your mother in our corner there was no one to stop us.

Oh yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

So let's list those classes shall we:

7th Grade - Art Wheel

8th Grade - Beginning 3-D Art

9th Grade - Intermediate 3-D Art

10th Grade - Special Studies 3-D Art

11th Grade - Advanced 3-D Art

12th Grade - Beginning 2-D Art

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You have pushed yourself harder than any student I've ever had,

and made many of the most important art pieces to come out of Whitney High School.

We know this because when you took your Portfolio to Portfolio Days,

the colleges reps. were blown away by what you had created and built.

They told you that no other high school student

 was doing anything even remotely close to what you were pulling off. 

And in addition,

you continued to take a full academic load as well.

You are quite a woman Karisma Dev.

Your mother has instilled in you one of the best work ethics I've ever seen 

in one so young.

Not only that,

she has raised you to be one of the most disciplined, 

honest and responsible people I've ever met.

She has also taught you to be a strong and independent woman

who can take care of herself,

as you are doing now at Syracuse University in Upstate New York

where you earned yourself a full scholarship ride 

as an Architecture Major.

No easy feat!!

One of my fondest memories was made with you this year 

when you asked me to accompany you to receive your prestigious scholarship award 

given to you by the AAA& E (Asian American Architects & Engineers) 

at the Los Angeles Millennium Biltmore Hotel.

What an honor that was to accompany you on that special evening,

getting ourselves all gussied up,

 to watch you get up and give your thank you speech to over 1000 adults,

some of who will eventually be your contemporaries & mentors.

I was bursting with pride.

My second favorite memory was this summer,

 being your special guest on stage 

at your Arangetram,

your 3 hour dance performance that you've been studying for 

since you were 3 years old.

What a treat that was for me.

It showed me a whole other side to you that I couldn't even phantom.

But it also reinforced where so much of your training and discipline has come from.

Your strength of character,

your work ethic,

your intelligence,

your maturity,

and your creativity are going to take you far.

That's a given.

I'm so thrilled to have been a part of your life for so many years Karisma,

and feel so blessed to have had you pass thru my classroom doors.

I feel like my life as an art teacher is complete now,

that everything that will come after you is icing on the cake.

I could retire tomorrow knowing that I have taught the best of the best.

I love you with all my heart Karisma,

and I so look forward to what you will create from here on out.

And I also pray that I live long enough to see your work published in Architectural Digest. 

Because I know that's where your journey will take you.

Dear Friends for Life!!