Senior Spotlight: Anika Ayyar

Anika Ayyar is a truly well-rounded Exonian in every sense of the term. A McConnell Hall proctor, varsity cross country captain, Discipline Committee member, Debate co-head and dedicated member of In Essence, Ayyar has taken full advantage of every opportunity Exeter has given her on campus. She spent a semester at the Island School her lower fall, as well as working as an intern with an Exeter alumnus at a Stanford biology lab this past summer.For Ayyar, cross country is a sport that she has been involved with since before her prep year and is an activity she looks forward to every fall as she returns to Exeter. She explained that her love for running comes from a love of nature, seeing the area around Exeter and her fellow teammates.Ayyar detailed the ways that cross country has allowed her to appreciate the true surroundings of the Academy. “I love being outside,” she said, “and I don’t really get a lot of time to spend enjoying the outdoors at Exeter. Cross country allows me to get away from campus and spend time with amazing people, all while being part of a competitive team.”Fellow cross country runner and close friend Luke Gray commented on Anika’s true dedication to the sport. “Anika has a lot to be proud of,” Gray said. “But she is extremely humble. She is never complacent and always works hard.”Since her prep year, Ayyar has worked tirelessly to become better at the sport and was chosen as a captain for her senior year. She appreciated the opportunity as a chance to give back to the team that she felt had given her so much over the years. She described this year as one of the best years yet for her in the sport. “It was especially exciting that I got to co-captain the team,” she said.Ayyar is a natural leader not only in athletics but in academics as well. For four years, she has been an integral member of the debate team, leading it as co-head this year. She has always had an interest in debate and enjoys it as her most academic club to be a part of on campus, providing her with intellectual discussions that she feels have been a crucial part of her Exeter career.Ayyar has pursued her positions of debate co-head and cross country captain not only because of her interest in debate and her love for running, but also to help guide younger students as well. She was mentored and lead by older students as an underclassmen in many of her activities and is grateful to be able to do the same for younger students. “As an underclassmen, the upperclassmen on my teams and clubs piqued my interest with their own passion and energy,” Ayyar said. “I hope to do the same with underclassmen I spend time with.Ayyar’s natural gift and interest in biology led her to spend the majority of last summer at Stanford University with a few other select Biology 470 students, working as an intern in Exeter alum Dr. Seung Kim’s lab researching genetics.“My entire experience with the ‘StanEx’ project and with our research collaboration with Stanford, has been incredible,” she said. “I have found that what is truly unique about Exeter is that does so much to support its students’ desires to further learning.”Ayyar’s character and drive have been demonstrated to her peers, teachers and friends at Exeter as well.Senior Elle MacAlpine, who accompanied Ayyar at Stanford, complimented Anika’s bold personality that has led her to so much success. “She’s such a go-getter, and she’s the student who has been most behind the Stanford internship at Exeter,” MacAlpine said. She added, “She’s like that with everything she does.”Classical languages instructor Matthew Hartnett has been Ayyar’s adviser since her prep year, when he started teaching at the Academy. “She is a marvelous exemplar of Exeter’s ideal of uniting knowledge with goodness. Anika is a very talented and dedicated students, and she is always eager to do the right thing,” Hartnett said.After returning in her lower year from a semester at the Island School, Ayyar switched dorms, moving into McConnell, a change that she feels has been very positive. She has become a proctor and enjoys getting to know underclassmen through her duties in the dorm.Upper Stephanie Chen became friends with Ayyar when she lived next door to her last year. They became close simply by being neighbors, and Chen said that Ayyar’s advice and friendship has been invaluable. “I feel like I can tell her anything,” Chen said. “She’ll always be able to give me good advice, all while being really funny. She’s someone I’ll never get bored of and I’ll never stop being friends with.”Lower Stajz Saar, also a fellow McConnell resident and cross-country runner, described Ayyar as a role model. “She’s very open, and that’s something I really like about her,” Saar said. “I really look up to her in the dorm. She’s a great friend and an inspiration, in terms of her work ethic and character.”“I have especially loved being proctor because I get to spend time with all the preps, lowers and uppers in the dorm each week when I check them in,” Ayyar said. Like cross country, she feels that being a proctor is a way to give back to the dorm community from which she has gained many friendships over the years.Anika Ayyar’s admirable achievements have shaped her into a model Exonian looked up to and appreciated by every community she immerses herself in. Hartnett believed that Ayyar will continue her successes and achieve great things after she graduates this spring. “I anticipate that she will continue to surprise and impress us with her exploits in years to come,” Hartnett said. “Over the years, I have only grown prouder of her and more impressed with her talent and determination.”