Meera Kurup is just 17 years old. Yet she is a pillar of strength for Alzheimer’s patients.Boston: Meera Kurup is just 17 years old. Yet she is a pillar of strength for Alzheimer’s patients.
The teenager said that her voluntary work among the forgetful souls started with a poetry recitation event in the Huntington Senior Centre three summers ago.
“(The inmates of the senior centre) told me how the poems brought them back to their forgotten past. That left me thinking how much they would enjoy the voices of people close to them,” Kurup said.
The girl wanted to help the seniors by combining her passion for technology and poems. She started working on an app that enabled people to recite poems in their own voices.
A student of the Bishop Guertin High School at Nashua, New Hampshire, Kurup has authored an app ALZSPOETRY. Relatives of Alzheimer’s patients can even find poems in the app which they could record in their own voice. The app can be downloaded from the iPhone App Store. She plans to distribute the app on other platforms and even provide poems that could be downloaded from the internet.
She is the daughter of Sreenivas Kurup and Reshmi Nair who live in Merrimack.
Kurup’s endeavor has won her the first prize at a national-level tech challenge. The annual Congressional App Challenge attracts about 5,000 competitors every year. Kurup walked away with the top honour with her app in 2017. She received the award in the presence of Congress members in Washington D C on April 12, 2018.
Kurup said that was her second journey to the federal capital this year. She represented New Hampshire in the United States Senator Youth Program in March. The USSYP is an event organised by the Senate and the Hearst Foundation for the high school students with an inclination for social service and a proven record of academic excellence. The winners earn $10,000 and an opportunity to learn closely the mechanism of government by participating in the ‘Washington Week’.
Kurup considers herself lucky to be among the 104 delegates from across the country. She visited the White House, the Capitol, the Pentagon and met with a host of dignitaries including President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, vice-president Mike Pence and several senators and military officers.
Yet the highlight of the visit was a speech by civil rights activist and Congressman John Lewis, who projected his own life a model to overcome all difficulties to get ahead in life. Equally inspiring was a speech by Angus King, who was elected to the Senate from Maine as an independent. Kurup was particularly attracted by King’s attempts to transcend partisan politics by hosting politicians from across the spectrum.
Kurup was also honoured with the Aspiration in Computing award by the National Center for Woman and Information Technology last year. A computer programme Kurup designed with support from the NCWIT and the New Hampshire University was selected for this year’s Tech Students Award.
The CodeITGirls programme is meant for girls in primary schools. The programme presents coding in a simple way to the little girls with the help of stories and 3D characters. Several schools in New Hampshire have already made the software a part of their curriculum. Kurup expects more schools to take up the project.
Kurup expects technology to bridge the gender gap in society. She said former president Barack Obama has been a huge inspiration for her.
Kurup, however, is saddened by the growing gun culture that threatens the peaceful atmosphere of the campuses. “It is unfortunate that the students are being required to study about the safety precautions to be alert against shootings. We should tighten rules to buy and sell firearms,” she said.
She said the students should speak out their minds and they should utilize their right to vote. The girl who also excels in dance and tennis wants to study computer science and political science. She is already a member of the robotic team in the school. She is part of a team that is working on a robot that can carry cubes.
Kurup has accompanied her father, mother and younger sister to countries around the world. The family visits Kerala once a year. Her father is from Omallur in Pathanamthitta and mother from Pallam in Kottayam.
Her favourite holiday destinations remain Singapore and Bali. “I was drawn to their rich cultural heritage. I have never eaten such tasty food from anywhere else.”
Kurup has a lofty dream to share: Work for society, work to help others. “Sky is the limit. Overcome all obstacles and strive hard for your dreams. Stick to what you believe is right and fight for it. Don’t waste your time and energy. Use it for the benefit of others,” she said.
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