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"Yes, there are places and cultures where females don’t have the same level of freedom and respect that they deserve. My message to them would be to believe in themselves and to work towards gaining the rights they deserve. "
Following her triumphant win, Nishi has already achieved celebrity-status at her alma mater, Altrincham Grammar School for Girls. Nishi’s greatest inspiration is Stephen Hawking and by age 10 she had already completed reading Hawking’s ‘A Brief History of Time’. Following in his footsteps, she aspires to be a theoretical physicist and plans to research on ‘black holes’ which was also her special subject at Child Genius. Her acceptance speech was applauded by a wider community as she spoke to all females out there. After all, her attempt was to prove that even girls could be equally good at maths and physics as boys. And she definitely walked the talk.
“Being a Sri Lankan made me have a multi-cultural and international outlook,” said Nishi in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mirror.
Excerpts:
I feel that it’s a great achievement, as it’s the highest academic competition that a child could take part in within the UK. It’s a once-in-a -lifetime opportunity, and it made it even more special that I’m the first Sri Lankan child to be selected into the top 20, and then to go on and win, which is an unbreakable record.
Apart from being a massive fan of both these scientists, I am not fond of being compared intellectually with these great icons as they are my idols, and for me they will always sit above me.
Being a Sri Lankan made me have a multi-cultural and international outlook
I am not fond of being compared intellectually with these great icons as they are my idols
I was very excited to enter the final, because all the hard work and effort to reach that point had paid off
I can speak to them about anything and I can improve myself with their knowledge and experience
I prefer to study/do activities in my own time, so that I can choose what I am doing and do them at my own pace. However, I do take part in a few lunchtime clubs
I was very excited to enter the final, because all the hard work and effort to reach that point had paid off. However, during the actual final, I was completely focused on the task at hand.
Reading fills you with knowledge, so even reading a single page leaves you with a little more knowledge than you started with. Maths is different, because when you get the right answer it’s very satisfying when your method works out.
I know parents always try to do what is best for their children and I can understand some parents having to push their children because they refuse to do anything. But when children are willingly studying, pushing might have a negative impact, so it’s best for the children and parents to work together, like my parents and I.
They are always there to support me in any and every form I need. I can speak to them about anything and I can improve myself with their knowledge and experience.
I prefer to study/do activities in my own time, so that I can choose what I am doing and do them at my own pace. However, I do take part in a few lunchtime clubs, such as STEM club and Coding club.
Not at all, I never felt I had a disadvantage academically, however in height, definitely.
" After all, her attempt was to prove that even girls could be equally good at maths and physics as boys. And she definitely walked the talk"
I don’t think I can differentiate who I am from being a Sri Lankan. However, it led me to become bilingual from when I could first talk and to have a multi-cultural and international outlook.
Yes, there are places and cultures where females don’t have the same level of freedom and respect that they deserve. My message to them would be to believe in themselves and to work towards gaining the rights they deserve. The best tool for that would be to educate themselves.
Something I would like to discover is ‘what is inside a black hole?’, because currently our science and technology are not capable of this, and I think it would be something interesting to develop in the future.