Meet New Village School Alumni - SIDDHA KAYE, Class of 2019
Sep 23, 2024 | by Amy Novesky
After graduating from The New Village School, Siddha and her family moved to New York, where Siddha attended high school. Siddha continued further east to England where she attends the University of Bristol. She is studying sociology and social policy.
“I was really inspired by our Europe trip, particularly our time in Greece, and it’s completely shaped what I want to study and the direction I want to go after graduating.”
And perhaps inspired by practicing for and competing in the 5th grade pentathlon, where she excelled at wrestling and running, Siddha took up competitive boxing for a time, and she is currently training for a half marathon.
In addition to her studies and athletic pursuits, Siddha loves to travel.
“I’ve been lucky enough to do some solo traveling since being in the UK, very must inspired and instilled in me by my time at NVS. Siddha has enjoyed being abroad so much she is living in Bristol pretty much full time.”
Below is an update from Siddha that she shared with us last year:
I must say, being asked to write “Siddha in the world today” made me feel very important, and very excited. I only hope I do all of my experiences, gratitude, and enthusiasm justice without taking pages upon pages.
Different from many in my graduating class, my post-NVS experience was not a relatively smooth transition to a local high school, with all of my friends and community within arms reach. Instead, I found myself faced with not only a new school, but a new state, a new town, on the other side of the country, and no community in sight. My time at NVS was, in essence, defined by laughter, conversation sparked by connection, food, the beach, and California sunshine. Because I was so fortunate to experience such community, and quickly after, the lack thereof, now, when I find myself picturing my future, I think of all my favorite people, whomever they may come to be, gathered around, preferably a dinner table, and sharing ideas, food, hopes, dreams. I could not be more thankful for the love of connections that was instilled in me so early on, that in many ways influenced my future passions and ambitions, and gave me a peek into the importance of community.
This fall, I am hoping to attend university in England, majoring in Sociology and Social Policy, so I truly can become the change I want to see in the world. I am fascinated by cultures, by societies, the intricacies of human relations to themselves and each other. I even spent a year of my life writing a paper on the Nordic Social Welfare Model and the math behind its success. I want to travel, I want to experience, I want to connect. The stimulating conversation that is a constant, both at NVS and within the larger community, have taught me communication skills I am forever grateful for, given my love of talking, and have made it easier to adapt to such a drastically different environment.
I am currently in the midst of the International Baccalaureate program at my school, continuing to learn with the global perspective I grew up with. I listen to podcasts about feminism, I knit, I read, I box, and I do my best to keep up with the world around me. I am planning on returning to Lesvos and continuing the work we began there in 7th grade both environmentally and socially. As this final year of high school slowly begins to end, I am so excited for the next chapter, to realize my ambitions on my own, to create a new community, while at the same time feeling so incredibly thankful for the love, tools, and lessons I picked up along the way that have gotten me to where I am.
~Siddha Kaye, alumna