Three weeks ago, Advait Ganapathy arrived on the Circle with heavy aspirations. He had been chosen by his school to embark on the journey across the Atlantic. “I accepted the offer as soon as I got it,” he said, “since I had heard of Groton in India and I knew that the experience would be a memorable one.” And it seems as if Advait’s name is as unique as his time here. “Advait” directly translates to “one who has no second.” “It essentially means unique,” he said.

At home, Advait left behind an eleven-year-old brother and his parents, but he said that he was not terribly sad to leave them behind: “I do not miss my family much, since I have been a boarder since 7th grade.” Perhaps it was the excitement of the Groton experience that kept his mind off them: “I knew that the experience of being an exchange student would be one in which I would learn lessons and make friends for a lifetime.”

Advait brought over a multitude of skills from Doon School, an all-boys boarding school in Dehradun, India. He plays sports most students in India play, like cricket and badminton, but also plays tennis.

Advait’s school year at Doon ended in March, where he finished the Fourth Form, thus, he’s taking Fifth Form classes at Groton. In India, Advait took physics, math, biology, chemistry, and English, of which his favorite was biology. He said that he likes the environmental science class the most at Groton. While he is still not sure about what he wants to do when he grows up, he is sure it will incorporate all of the subjects he is taking. Moreover, Advait is fascinated with paleontology, the study of fossils.

When asked what he likes most about Groton, Advait replied, “The flexibility in the school system is something I really admire. The freedom and liberty given to the students was astonishing for someone who is used to a fixed timing for everything. The students do not take it for granted and exercise their freedom in a responsible manner. The mutual trust between the students and the faculty is something for me to look up to.” He also cited the fixed times for everything when asked what he thought the biggest difference between Groton and Doon was.

Students have spent extra time in the Dining Hall, eating with Advait and answering his hundreds upon thousands of questions. Their warm welcome is inspiring, proving that Groton students can both “walk the walk” and “talk the talk” when it comes to diversity and inclusion.