Athif Wulandana, Shivum Bharill and Tara Lee come from three very different

Athif Wulandana, Shivum Bharill and Tara Lee come from three very different ethnic backgrounds.

But that doesn’t mean they don’t have anything in common.

The three friends, who attend Shady Side Academy in Fox Chapel, were honored Friday by the Asian American Heritage Committee of the Federal Executive Board of Pittsburgh as part of its outstanding student awards program.

Athif, 16, of Forest Hills, received the 2012 outstanding Indonesian-American student of the year award.

Shivam, 17, of Fox Chapel, was a finalist and honor awardee for the 2012 outstanding Indian-American student of the year award.

Tara, 16, of Murrysville, was a finalist and honor awardee for the 2012 outstanding Chinese-American student of the year award.

The Asian American Heritage Committee’s objective is to make the public aware of the valuable contributions Asian-Americans bring to our society and to promote awareness and understanding of the different Asian cultures.

The three classmates are very involved in keeping their heritage alive.

Athif, who skipped a grade in elementary school and will graduate this year, is active in the small Indonesian community in the Pittsburgh region.

“We do a lot of community gatherings to celebrate our heritage,” said Athif, who is part of a musical ensemble that performs the gamelan style of music. Gamelan is usually percussion oriented and most closely associated with the Indonesian culture.

“It’s fun and we celebrate our heritage,” he said.

Athif, who plans to study engineering at Northwestern University, traveled to Indonesia in 2011 under the Parkin Fellowship at Shady Side Academy.

There, he worked in a shelter that housed refugees displaced by the eruption of Mount Merapi.

As a volunteer, he organized refugee events and tutored children. Athif said the three-week experience allowed him to see that region of Indonesia and understand the poverty of the refugees.

Shivum also was a Parkin Fellowship awardee in 2011.

He traveled to India, where he worked on a service project that took water samples from villages to ensure safe drinking water and participated in a free immunization clinic.

Shivum said he chose that area of the world because he understood the language. He speaks both English and Hindi but understands Punjabi because his mother speaks it at home.

He is very active in the Pittsburgh Indian community, taking Hindi classes from an early age. He now teaches Hindi to youngsters.

“It’s really cool to go from someone who benefits [from those classes] to someone who gives back,” he said.

Tara also has taken part in activities relating to her heritage and said keeping the culture and traditions alive is important to her.

A member of the Organization of Chinese Americans, she has performed in a youth dance group for the past five years. She also plays the violin and piano.

She met Shivum and Athif in middle school when they all competed on the same Science Olympiad team at Shady Side Academy. “We are all pretty good friends,” Tara said.

All are involved in many activities.

Mary Krauland, a math teacher at Shady Side Academy who is also the speech and debate coach, said Shivum has been one of her star debaters this year, earning invitations to two national competitions with his debate partner.

He also shares his heritage with other pupils, performing Indian dances each year during Shady Side Academy’s week that focuses on diversity.

“I think he’s a humble young man and a very kind person to other students. He’s great,” Ms. Krauland said.

“They are all so very nice,” said Stephanie Montemurro, science olympiad coach who has worked with all three. This year, Tara and Athif are captains on the team.

Ms. Montemurro said Tara and Athif also have been involved in the annual diversity week celebration at Shady Side.

Tara played a Chinese drum while two other students performed a traditional Chinese dance, and Athif has shared his experiences in Indonesia as a Parkin Fellow with the student body.

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-north/asian-american-group-honors-shady-side-academy-students-635271/?p=0