January Spotlight

Tanya Dhingra– DECA ICDC Silver Medalist, DECA Chapter Vice President of Competition, Academic Decathlon competitor, student-body treasurer, violist, and Klein Cain sophomore. All of these achievements signifying that Tanya is nothing short of exceptional. Viewed by her peers as “studious” and “dedicated” and by her teachers as “hard-working”, Tanya represents the quintessential Klein ISD student.

Being a Student

At Klein Cain, she takes six advanced (AP and Pre-AP) courses. These courses being Spanish 4 AP, World History AP, Computer Science AP, English II Pre-AP, Chemistry Pre-AP, and Pre-Calculus Pre-AP. In addition to those courses, Tanya is also a part of the Klein Cain Orchestra, which she considers as the course she most enjoys. And although she considers orchestra as her favorite course, she states that each course has “played a part in shaping the person I am today”. (Her commendations on her teachers are posted below.)

For extracurriculars, Tanya is currently participating in the theatre musical (James and the Giant Peach). Year-round, she actively participates in the student-body, Academic Decathlon, Computer Science Club, Science Club, and DECA (a business club). At the moment, she is preparing for her DECA competition and rehearsing after-school for the musical. This Saturday, she is expected to compete in the upcoming DECA district competition. She will roleplay various business scenarios in front of a judge. Outside of school, she enjoys playing songs on her piano and viola as well as reading novels.

Being a Leader

As a leader of two organizations (student-body and DECA), Tanya believes that as a leader, one should provide people with the opportunity to learn and grow in contrast to a leader who only directs and organizes people. In addition to that belief, she believes that a leader should give guidance.

“Being a leader not only means directing or organizing people but affording them the opportunities to learn and grow as humans,” Tanya said. “This means assisting them with the first step (whatever it may be), but allowing them to struggle in between, inevitably finishing strong. However, I believe it is still important to give guidance in all stages as a leader.”

Core Teacher Commendations

World History AP: “Mr. Anselmi, my world history teacher, is unlike most teachers I have had before. I never feel too comfortable, or too uncomfortable in his class. His questions during discussions and lectures challenge me to think beyond conventional notions, or what I accept to be true (although I have trouble deciding sometimes). I especially enjoy when he plays devil’s advocate to implore us to consider all sides of a scenario or issue.”

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English II Pre-AP: “English has never been my favorite subject. However, Ms. Corley, my English II teacher, has truly allowed me to challenge my writing through various styles. We write short responses, long responses, discussion responses and questions, and essays that all relate to various short stories or novels we read. In addition, Ms. Corley’s personality is inviting and warm that, combined with our activities, make for an amazing English experience.”

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Chemistry Pre-AP: “Dr. Toth, my chemistry teacher, is a teacher I not only enjoy learning from but talking to as well. When he’s not lecturing us through powerpoints, I enjoy having conversations about science, his granddaughter, or school in general.”

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Pre-Calculus Pre-AP: “My pre-calculus teacher, Ms. Hudson, has a perfect combination of an amazing personality and teaching style. I enjoy how she applies the math we learn to real-life scenarios, and adds elements of amusement (like disco, and backward disco) to allow us to learn the material in a more effective way.”

Tanya’s Electives

Orchestra: “Mr. Barrett, my orchestra director, has been my teacher for almost 2 years. In those 2 years, he has never failed to make his “get more notes in” or “push more air through” jokes (which you’ll only understand if you’re an orchestra person). But beyond this, he has always made sure to choose the best music possible (with some prominent viola line), and guide us through the challenges of learning it. Ms. Lindler is my other orchestra director. Although not many know it, Ms. Lindler is the backbone of our program. She juggles conducting orchestras in our program, playing for gigs, dealing with the logistics of the program, and assisting us with Musical.”

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Spanish 4 AP: “My AP Spanish teacher, Señora Police, prepares us for the AP test every single day. But beyond that, allow me to appreciate the Spanish culture and language through various articles we read and videos we watch. Speaking in Spanish every day, discussions every Sunday, and weekly 1-hour Spanish television allows me to immerse myself in Spanish.”

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Computer Science AP: “For computer science, Coach Vo is my teacher. I can always count on him to play corny songs in class. But, I can also count on him to provide us the powerpoints, worksheets, and labs for each unit.”