Swetha Tandri: Teen Founder of Melodies for Math
Hello! My name is Swetha Tandri and I am a 17 year old high school junior. Currently I am working on drafting song lyrics for my initiative Melodies for Math, which aims to explain concepts through short, catchy original songs. My passions lie in resolving educational inequity, mathematics, music, climate activism, and app development(which I am currently learning).
Question: Thank you! Nice to meet you Swetha! Talk to us about Melodies for Math, how did you first come up with the idea? What is the main goal?
Swetha: I had the idea of Melodies for Math for a very long time, as I am very musically and mathematically inclined. I decided to put this plan into action after I experienced subpar math education in my school, both from teaching methods and student attitudes towards the subject. There is a disconnect in the fact that since math is quantitative, it is easy to focus on the WHAT instead of the WHY. But the why, the reasoning is most important because that ties into real life application, what can be used to solve 21st century problems. My solution is to combine the abstractness of the humanities with the supposed rigidity or the math curriculum to get more students interested in the subject. Music and math both have patterns and we naturally crave them. If students can make the connection between music and lyrics, they will approach mathematics, and perhaps more STEM related careers, with open minds.
Question: Talk to us about your educational inequality interests, what are you doing to pursue that current interest?
Swetha: To pursue my interest in educational inequity activism, I created Melodies for Math, which I aim to design curriculum that can be used by schools across the nation and even globally! I am learning how to program in Swift currently so I can make Melodies for Math an app, so students and any willing learner can learn on the go! I am the co international director of programming at @femmeforeducation, a student-run organization that aims to equip young females with tools needed to succeed in education, STEM, business, and law. As director of programming international, I am responsible for designing events and initiatives from the ground up that will engage individuals worldwide in preparing for their future careers. In addition, I develop curriculum for @girlsgotsteam to be used for workshops, and I write for @the.scientific.teen to inform individuals about STEM topics they wouldn’t know too much about!
Question: Amazing! It’s always great to see females supporting other females in the STEM field! How did you come across these opportunities and how have you grown from these leadership positions?
Swetha: I cannot stress the importance of networking enough when it comes to encountering opportunities. When I started Melodies for Math almost 2 months ago, I took advantage of the Instagram algorithm by following different organizations that have similar missions to mine. As a result, I came across @femmeforeducation and was drawn to their mission! I applied, and am thrilled that I will serve on their international team of directors! Likewise for Girls Got Steam, I had them in my network for quite some time, so I was immediately notified of positions. In addition to networking on social media, a little google searching can take you a long way. I won the United Nations environment essay contest and write for the Scientific Teen, and I found both through simple searches! I have tremendously grown during these last 2 months alone. Before, I was shy and relied too much on what others thought of me. Now, I found my own unique identity as well as the impact I would like to make on the world.
Question: Who are your biggest inspirations? What is so inspiring to you about them?
Swetha: My biggest inspirations are definitely Sal Khan from Khan Academy and Malala. Khan Academy is phenomenal in the fact that it provides FREE lessons to EVERYONE, regardless of age, gender, and knowledge level. It takes gut, dedication, and determination to start from a 1 man job to running a nonprofit with an unfathomable impact worldwide! I admire how even though Khan Academy is incredibly successful, Sal remains kind, caring, and humble. Someday, I hope Melodies for Math reaches the same scope as Khan Academy did. I look up to Malala because she is a strong, powerful female who is not afraid of challenging the status quo, especially in regards to women around the world getting an education. She almost gave her life for what she believes in, and tirelessly works to even the playing field, something that is very necessary especially right now. I would like to have a combination of both their impacts with my projects!
Question: Doing all of the work you do must get difficult to balance. How have you learned to balance school, life, and work?
Swetha: It’s still a work in progress! I take 6 AP classes so the hustle definitely exists! Since I love the activities I’m involved in, that takes up most of my free time! I do schoolwork in the morning, so I can spend my afternoon and evening working on passion projects. I’ve never gotten bored for 8 weeks because of all I have going on.
Question: That seems loads of work! But glad you’ve figured out a system. Who is your biggest supporter?
Swetha: My biggest supporter I would say is my mother. As a stay at home mom, she works super hard to take care of me and my brother, and I admire her work ethic, kindness, and compassion. More than anything else, she does not have that many restrictions and gives me free reign to carve my own path based on what I am passionate about. When I need help on anything, she is always there. I know there are many parents who enforce certain pathways on their children, and I’m glad that my parents are understanding and supportive of my goals.
Question: Your mom sounds wonderful to let you have those freedoms! It’s always great to have a good support system. How have you been coping with quarantine in this pandemic? What stuff do you do for fun?
Swetha: I actually started Melodies for Math during this pandemic: March 10th, 2020. All of my main exec responsibilities were also obtained during quarantine as well, along with doing research and learning to code using Swift. I do go for daily walks and lie down occasionally listening to music so it’s not all hustle XD In terms of coping, it’s not easy sometimes. A lot of times I suffer from impostor syndrome, where I feel like I’m not the best for the job or that I’m not doing good enough. I switch from happy to sad in a matter of seconds, but it’s something I’m working on fixing.
Question: We send our best wishes to you 💗 but glad to hear your improving :) Do you have any advice for teens following your footsteps or have the same interests as you that are looking for opportunities?
Swetha: My first piece of advice would be to get yourself out there and build a community and mentorships with those experienced in your desired field. Next, feel free to experiment and find what makes you unique, and then really push that forward! Once you find a cause/org that resonates with you, you will be more inclined to make an impact! For some people the process is simple and for others it may come with multiple failed tries. And that leads me to my next point: don’t give up! Keep trying. Speaking from experience, some days may seem perfect and others the exact opposite. There will be times where you doubt yourself or think you are not good enough. But that is all a part of the process. You are your biggest advocate, your greatest supporter. And it is up to you to decide how your successes and failures impact you.
Any last comments before we wrap up this interview?
Swetha: I know AP exams are coming soon and they can be super stressful. If you need help with anything AP calculus related, visit @melodiesformath and request for a song on the calculus topic of your choice(or any topic) :)
BIO:
Biography: Swetha Tandri is a passionate, accomplished activist for educational equity. At 17 years old, she founded Melodies for Math, an initiative that explains math concepts through original songs and is the co-director of programming at Femme for Education. She is also an intern at NASA and published by the UN.
Question: Thank you! Nice to meet you Swetha! Talk to us about Melodies for Math, how did you first come up with the idea? What is the main goal?
Swetha: I had the idea of Melodies for Math for a very long time, as I am very musically and mathematically inclined. I decided to put this plan into action after I experienced subpar math education in my school, both from teaching methods and student attitudes towards the subject. There is a disconnect in the fact that since math is quantitative, it is easy to focus on the WHAT instead of the WHY. But the why, the reasoning is most important because that ties into real life application, what can be used to solve 21st century problems. My solution is to combine the abstractness of the humanities with the supposed rigidity or the math curriculum to get more students interested in the subject. Music and math both have patterns and we naturally crave them. If students can make the connection between music and lyrics, they will approach mathematics, and perhaps more STEM related careers, with open minds.
Question: Talk to us about your educational inequality interests, what are you doing to pursue that current interest?
Swetha: To pursue my interest in educational inequity activism, I created Melodies for Math, which I aim to design curriculum that can be used by schools across the nation and even globally! I am learning how to program in Swift currently so I can make Melodies for Math an app, so students and any willing learner can learn on the go! I am the co international director of programming at @femmeforeducation, a student-run organization that aims to equip young females with tools needed to succeed in education, STEM, business, and law. As director of programming international, I am responsible for designing events and initiatives from the ground up that will engage individuals worldwide in preparing for their future careers. In addition, I develop curriculum for @girlsgotsteam to be used for workshops, and I write for @the.scientific.teen to inform individuals about STEM topics they wouldn’t know too much about!
Question: Amazing! It’s always great to see females supporting other females in the STEM field! How did you come across these opportunities and how have you grown from these leadership positions?
Swetha: I cannot stress the importance of networking enough when it comes to encountering opportunities. When I started Melodies for Math almost 2 months ago, I took advantage of the Instagram algorithm by following different organizations that have similar missions to mine. As a result, I came across @femmeforeducation and was drawn to their mission! I applied, and am thrilled that I will serve on their international team of directors! Likewise for Girls Got Steam, I had them in my network for quite some time, so I was immediately notified of positions. In addition to networking on social media, a little google searching can take you a long way. I won the United Nations environment essay contest and write for the Scientific Teen, and I found both through simple searches! I have tremendously grown during these last 2 months alone. Before, I was shy and relied too much on what others thought of me. Now, I found my own unique identity as well as the impact I would like to make on the world.
Question: Who are your biggest inspirations? What is so inspiring to you about them?
Swetha: My biggest inspirations are definitely Sal Khan from Khan Academy and Malala. Khan Academy is phenomenal in the fact that it provides FREE lessons to EVERYONE, regardless of age, gender, and knowledge level. It takes gut, dedication, and determination to start from a 1 man job to running a nonprofit with an unfathomable impact worldwide! I admire how even though Khan Academy is incredibly successful, Sal remains kind, caring, and humble. Someday, I hope Melodies for Math reaches the same scope as Khan Academy did. I look up to Malala because she is a strong, powerful female who is not afraid of challenging the status quo, especially in regards to women around the world getting an education. She almost gave her life for what she believes in, and tirelessly works to even the playing field, something that is very necessary especially right now. I would like to have a combination of both their impacts with my projects!
Question: Doing all of the work you do must get difficult to balance. How have you learned to balance school, life, and work?
Swetha: It’s still a work in progress! I take 6 AP classes so the hustle definitely exists! Since I love the activities I’m involved in, that takes up most of my free time! I do schoolwork in the morning, so I can spend my afternoon and evening working on passion projects. I’ve never gotten bored for 8 weeks because of all I have going on.
Question: That seems loads of work! But glad you’ve figured out a system. Who is your biggest supporter?
Swetha: My biggest supporter I would say is my mother. As a stay at home mom, she works super hard to take care of me and my brother, and I admire her work ethic, kindness, and compassion. More than anything else, she does not have that many restrictions and gives me free reign to carve my own path based on what I am passionate about. When I need help on anything, she is always there. I know there are many parents who enforce certain pathways on their children, and I’m glad that my parents are understanding and supportive of my goals.
Question: Your mom sounds wonderful to let you have those freedoms! It’s always great to have a good support system. How have you been coping with quarantine in this pandemic? What stuff do you do for fun?
Swetha: I actually started Melodies for Math during this pandemic: March 10th, 2020. All of my main exec responsibilities were also obtained during quarantine as well, along with doing research and learning to code using Swift. I do go for daily walks and lie down occasionally listening to music so it’s not all hustle XD In terms of coping, it’s not easy sometimes. A lot of times I suffer from impostor syndrome, where I feel like I’m not the best for the job or that I’m not doing good enough. I switch from happy to sad in a matter of seconds, but it’s something I’m working on fixing.
Question: We send our best wishes to you 💗 but glad to hear your improving :) Do you have any advice for teens following your footsteps or have the same interests as you that are looking for opportunities?
Swetha: My first piece of advice would be to get yourself out there and build a community and mentorships with those experienced in your desired field. Next, feel free to experiment and find what makes you unique, and then really push that forward! Once you find a cause/org that resonates with you, you will be more inclined to make an impact! For some people the process is simple and for others it may come with multiple failed tries. And that leads me to my next point: don’t give up! Keep trying. Speaking from experience, some days may seem perfect and others the exact opposite. There will be times where you doubt yourself or think you are not good enough. But that is all a part of the process. You are your biggest advocate, your greatest supporter. And it is up to you to decide how your successes and failures impact you.
Any last comments before we wrap up this interview?
Swetha: I know AP exams are coming soon and they can be super stressful. If you need help with anything AP calculus related, visit @melodiesformath and request for a song on the calculus topic of your choice(or any topic) :)
BIO:
Biography: Swetha Tandri is a passionate, accomplished activist for educational equity. At 17 years old, she founded Melodies for Math, an initiative that explains math concepts through original songs and is the co-director of programming at Femme for Education. She is also an intern at NASA and published by the UN.