Meet The Pros

• Part of NorthSouth since 2015
• Been to nationals every year and continues to attend National events
• Played multiple volunteer roles as Coaching and Online contests director, only one to do so
• Ms. Modi has been chosen for the fellowship for bringing creative elements to NorthSouth coaching. She is not only one of the first coaches to incorporate interactive exercises such as Kahoots and Gimkits into NorthSouth coaching but also the only coach to have taught the classes every year since the inception of NorthSouth Spelling bee coaching program in 2020. Naysa is very compassionate and ensures that every child is learning in her class, and sets an exemplary example for all of us to follow in doing so. Ms. Modi has played an integral role in revising and reformatting the coaching materials consistently by observing and assimilating feedback from her class students, parents and other coaches.
• The objectives of this fellowship for Naysa Modi are to increase adoption of NorthSouth Spelling online application by adding more quizzes and content to the website. She will also deliver a plan for asynchronous spelling classes by the end of her fellowship. She will be mentored by Mr. Narayana Janga, National Learning Journey Executive Officer, after school foundational and advanced learning programs for NorthSouth foundation.Mr. Janga has created the original Spelling Bee coaching materials for NorthSouth. He also designed and developed the modern NorthSooth Spelling and Vocabulary Bee Cloud and mobile applications.

North South Foundation (NorthSouth) provides scholarships to undergraduate students entering into 3-year polytechnic (diploma in engineering) , engineering/ Lateral Entry Engineering, MBBS, BDS, B.Pharma, Diploma in Agriculture, BSc (Ag), BSc (Nursing) and BA.BEd/B.Sc.BEd(Limited to Regional Institutes of Education of NCERT Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar,Mysore, Shillong)., based on merit and financial need. The scholarship process begins at the chapter level in India with an announcement by the India Chapter Coordinator (ICC). Each India chapter has a volunteer who acts as the ICC, who is responsible for all activities of the chapter – from forming the selection committee, reviewing applications, interviewing applicants and giving the scholarships cheques at an awards ceremony. Volunteers who live in USA and are closely associated with a chapter in India act as liaisons. The scholarship process is detailed below.

1. India Chapter announces scholarships through local media and in schools (Aug).
2. Students send their details and request for an application (Aug-Dec).
3. India Chapter coordinator screens requests and send applications to eligible candidates (Oct-Dec).
4. Applications are completed and mailed by students. Income certificates and mark sheets are part of the application (Aug-Dec).
5. India Chapter Coordinator(ICC) forms a selection panel, reviews applications and shartlists candidates to Interview (Sep-Oct).
6. ICC and selection panel interview candidates. One parent is expected to accompany the student. Bus or train fee is reimbursed to the student (Sep-Oct).
7. ICC sends recommendations to NorthSouth India Coordinator in Hyderabad (Oct-Dec).
8. NorthSouth India Coordinator and US Scholarships team do file review. Sometimes further clarifications are requested before approval (Nov-Feb)
9. The chapter also processes any renewals at t his time since NorthSouth supports the student through the entire course of study (Aug-Oct).
10. India Chapter holds an awards ceremony and honors NorthSouth scholarships recipients (Dec-Feb).

Last date for scholarship application is 31st December, 2024.

I’m Siddharth Potta, and I’ve had the privilege of being an active member of the North South community for several years. Currently a student at the University of Texas, Austin, over time, I’ve taken on various roles, including serving as a lead coach for AP Physics and leading the MATHCOUNTS program. I’m an advisory member of the Junior board and led the Marketing & Branding committee in the past. I am also a National Merit Semifinalist.

My name is Ishaan Sid, and I am one of the directors on the Education committee for the North South Foundation Junior Board. I am in my junior year of high school at Novi high school in Michigan. I have been a part of the North South family for over 10 years. I started by competing in Math and Science, then in high school I started coaching Math. Outside of North South I like playing tennis for my school team, as well as learning.

My name is Advaith Balakrishnan, and I am a director of the Education Committee for the NorthSouth Foundation Junior Board. I am part of the class of 2027 at Hinsdale Central High School in Illinois. Since 2nd grade, I have competed in NorthSouth spelling, vocabulary, and math competitions, and I currently coach spelling for the foundation. Outside of NorthSouth, I enjoy playing soccer, singing Carnatic music, and playing piano and cello as well.

My Name is Anjali, and I am the Junior Board’s Marketing and Branding Committee Co-Director. I am a current senior and have been a part of NorthSouth for the past 10 years. My journey with NorthSouth started as a volunteer and competing in competitions, and it has transformed into becoming the brand ambassador for NorthSouth’s Cherry Hill Chapter and joining the Junior Board. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to co-direct the Marketing and Branding Committee and to help students around the world!

My name is Nivriti, and I am the Junior Board’s Marketing and Branding Committee director. I have been a part of NorthSouth since 2020 as an Essay Writing Coach. I am very passionate about issues regarding educational equity, and being able to work with NorthSouth is an opportunity for which I am truly grateful. I also work with LOUDwomen, a 501(c)(3) that aims to empower young women through educational equity. I could not be more excited for this opportunity to lead the Marketing & Branding Committee to spread NorthSouth’s mission.

I’m Himani Musku, the Manager of the Junior Board and a part of the class of 2025 at Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. I started my NorthSouth journey as a student and eventually became a MathCounts coach and lead, receiving the Presidential Volunteer Service Award (Gold) for my work. In 2023, I helped start the Junior Board and currently oversee our events and committees as the Manager.

I’m Haasini Yelugoti, the president of the NorthSouth Foundation Junior Board and a current high school senior. I’ve been involved with this organization for over 8 years and have gone from competing in competitions to coaching and founding the Junior Board. I’ve coached various subjects such as Essay Writing, Universal Values, Science Bee, and Brain Bee. I am so excited to be leading the Junior Board.

• Part of NorthSouth since 1st grade
• Been to nationals every year and continues to attend National events
• Mr. Vedula has been selected to the fellowship for creating the complete curriculum for Artificial Intelligence classes this Summer. He also trained and supported coaches for the entire summer program. He clearly demonstrated his passion, commitment and leadership qualities which played a critical part in his selection. The classes were very popular amongst the students and many want to continue learning from Mr. Vedula.
• The objectives of this fellowship are for Karthik to put his passion to work and deliver an asynchronous AI pilot class by the end of 2024 and build the NorthSouth Artificial Intelligence club by summer of 2025. He will be mentored by Mr. Bala Venkatraman, National Communications Executive Officer for North South foundation

Project Description: Samvith loves to go biking with his friends in his community, but noticed that there weren’t enough bike racks in their neighborhood. He worked with local government, businesses, and neighborhood biking groups to understand the logistics and fundraising required to support this initiative.

Impact: Since his first year as a Changemaker, Samvith has installed a bike rack in his community, learned how to adapt to setbacks during the process, and is in the process of installing more racks across his community! Based on his own experiences and learnings, he advises others changemakers to understand that there will definitely be many challenges and rejections along the journey. But it is important to not take those to heart and continue to be
committed and passionate about your cause. Through perseverance and determination, you will eventually find success!

Project Description: After connecting with education leaders and community service groups in her neighborhood, Koyal wanted to increase access to school supplies for students who may not be able to afford them.

Impact: Using social media to spread awareness, Koyal and her team hosted a school supply drive – together, they collected 20 backpacks, 30 notebooks, over 1,000 writing utensils and erasers, and 35 boxes of markers and crayons. The collected materials were provided to her school’s leadership team to distribute to students in need.

Project Description: While in India, Himanshu observed that there were many street vendors, who would sell items like balloons, magnets, and flowers. Curious about this issue, he interviewed some street vendors and learned that these kids sell small items in large cities in order to financially support their families. His research revealed that 6 million children in India were out of school.

Impact: Himanshu created an Instagram page, @littlestepsforward.ycj, to create awareness about the issue. To raise funds, he also hosted a virtual Rubik’s Cube workshop. Along with the workshop and the GoFundMe Page, he raised over $300. These funds were donated to the Shifting Orbits Foundation to sponsor a street vendor’s education for a year!

Sahana is currently a high school freshman. She has been involved with spelling bees since 2017, and in 2021 & 2022 she qualified for the Scripps National Bee. That experience gave her an outlet to pursue her passion, develop her confidence, befriend spellers, and make new memories. She is now a volunteer coaching with North South, hosts a bee program at her school. In addition to language, she loves music, plays the piano & violin, and dance Bharatanatyam. She is also part of her school’s speech and debate team. Sahana will talk about preparing for the contests and how to create a study plan so spellers don’t feel overwhelmed with materials.

Avani competed in the Scripps National Spelling Bee twice in 2019, as well as in 2021 tying for 7th place. She feels that North South played a pivotal role in developing her foundation as a speller, giving me a platform to practice before the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Currently, she is running a spelling bee club to help provide other students in my locale an opportunity to hone their skills to achieve their dreams in spelling; all my proceeds go to local charities. Avani will talk about “Anglicization” of Hindi/Sanskrit words.

Navneeth is a highschool sophomore. He is a two-time Finalist at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, placing 5th in 2018 and 11th in 2019. He won the 2019 South Asian Spelling Bee and the 2019 North America Spelling Championship Challenge. Navneeth continues to channel his passion for language as a spelling coach and a lead vocabulary coach for North South, helping groom the next generation of spellers. Navneeth will talk about identifying exceptions and making purposeful lists from the dictionary.

Harini is the 2022 Scripps Spelling Bee Champion. She started her spelling journey in 2016 after gaining inspiration by watching the 2015 SNSB finals. She started her Scripps journey in 2018, when she was in fourth grade, and participated in 4 consecutive Scripps National Spelling Bees since 2018. Throughout her journey, Harini has also participated in North South bees since 2016 and believes that they have helped her develop her method for spelling onstage. Harini will talk about eponyms