For a week and a half as a child, Nidha Eakambaram cared for a family of raccoons who were living underneath her house. Just 5 or 6 at the time, she said she also observed and made notes on their behavior. It wasn’t just raccoons that grabbed her interest. She also adopted a menagerie of other creatures she found in her backyard.
Raccoons in the backyard worried her parents. But for a young Nidha, the sight of the fuzzy scavengers was the start of a lifelong fascination with the workings of the natural world.
Ready from a young age to pursue anything that grabbed her attention, Nidha’s curiosity persists to this day, visible everywhere from her attempts to befriend wild animals to an interest in immunology and the legal system.
Now 16, the Lincoln High School sophomore will take on the position of news and feature editor for her school’s newspaper, The Cardinal Times, next year and described her interest in journalism as a way to continue exploring a range of topics.
Curiosity and patience are virtues that Nidha’s father fostered in her from a young age, mirroring his own mindset as a child growing up in Chennai, India.
When Nidha’s dad was younger, his dad bought an expensive clock. She said her dad took the clock apart and then figured out how to put it back together.
When Nidha was younger, she wanted to be a vet “like every other little kid,” she said. In the seventh grade, Nidha took a DNA and genetics course, sparking her interest in immunology and how vaccines work. She described the course as the most in-depth she had ever taken.
“I really benefit from that kind of approach,” she said. “When you go really deep into it, I get super interested.”
Last school year, at the suggestion of a friend, Nidha joined Lincoln’s Constitution Team, a group aimed at demonstrating proficiency in U.S. law and simulating congressional hearings. Despite having no prior experience on the subject and having to learn how to speak at mock hearings, she and the team made it to a national-level competition.
“I was able to really increase the quality of my work. That’s something I was really proud of,” Nidha said.
– John Pham, La Salle Catholic College Preparatory
This story was produced by student reporters as part of the High School Journalism Institute, an annual collaboration among The Oregonian/OregonLive, Oregon State University and other Oregon media organizations. For more information or to support the program, go to oregonlive.com/hsji.
