#SoCaltech: Manisha Kapasiawala

“I started tutoring with the Caltech Y’s Rise Program, which pairs Caltech students with local Pasadena middle and high school students, because I wanted to give back to my community. In my own academic journey, I feel like I received so much help from mentors and others, and tutoring just felt like a good way to give back. Being at Caltech—one of the greatest academic institutions in the world—why not use my privilege to help local students? Especially when many of them are from low-income backgrounds and might be the first generation in their families aspiring to go to college.

 “Sometimes, we’d have sessions where it felt like I didn’t have enough time to tutor them that day. In subjects like math, if they didn’t learn a fundamental concept three years ago, and something they’re learning now builds on that, I can’t bridge that gap in a two-hour weekly session. So, it sometimes feels like I’m trying my best but not able to do enough. But even then, you can see students improve over time—even if the changes aren’t always quantifiable. For me it’s about seeing that they’ve become more confident, that they can solve problems faster, or that they’re no longer relying on their classmates’ help to do their homework. That feels very rewarding.”

 Manisha Kapasiawala is a bioengineering graduate student who has been active in Caltech Y programs including the RISE tutoring program and Student Activism Speaker Series.

#SoCaltech is an occasional series celebrating the diverse individuals who give Caltech its spirit of excellence, ambition, and ingenuity. Know someone we should profile? Send nominations to magazine@caltech.edu.