Celebrating our graduating class of 2026
On June 7, thirteen Shanti Bhavan students walked across the stage to receive their high school diplomas. Fourteen years of work, patience, and courage were packed into that one afternoon, though you wouldn’t have known it from the ceremony alone. What the stage couldn’t show was where each of those journeys began. Fourteen years earlier, thirteen families made a life-changing decision to bring their four-year-olds to Shanti Bhavan, trusting it would create a different future for their children.
The feeling behind that decision was present throughout the days leading up to graduation, from the performances and celebrations to the morning of the ceremony. There was joy in celebrating how far they’d come and anticipation for everything that was still ahead. Our thirteen students didn’t simply graduate from high school. They reached a milestone that once would’ve been beyond their dreams.
Rakshita with her diploma, completing 14 years at Shanti Bhavan
Rakshita was one of this year’s graduates and like her classmates, she had been at Shanti Bhavan for fourteen years. Her parents didn’t have the opportunity to attend school themselves, but they were determined to give Rakshita a different future. Bringing Rakshita to Shanti Bhavan was not an easy choice. It came with questions and judgment from people in their community who didn’t understand why they would send their young daughter away, but her parents believed in what could be possible for her.
When Rakshita talks about what her experience at Shanti Bhavan has meant to her, her words echo that trust and extend beyond the education she received.
“Everyone at home believed that I found a school that shaped my future, but I found a home that shaped my life. For more than 14 years, Shanti Bhavan has been more than a place of learning. Shanti Bhavan is the family that believes in me, cares for me, and teaches me what love, resilience, and compassion in action truly mean. Growing up in Shanti Bhavan is a once-in-a-lifetime blessing.”
Rakshita plans to build a career in sustainable development and hopes to one day give back to her parents for the choice they made all those years ago.
Pooja with her diploma on graduation day
Her classmate, Pooja, described a similar feeling reflecting on her time at Shanti Bhavan.
“From the age of four, I became self-confident. I was supported and loved in every stage of my life without any judgment. Here I learned the importance of kindness, patience, humility, determination, and many other key values that have shaped the woman I have become.”
Like most members of the Class of 2026, Rakshita and Pooja are the first in their families to graduate from high school. Each child’s story is unique, but they all started with families who hoped for a different future for their children, and years of steady support that turned that hope into a diploma.
Admission and scholarship decisions for this year’s graduating class are still coming in, but last year’s class offers a glimpse of what’s possible. All seven students who took a gap year have since received full scholarships to attend universities in the United States, including Princeton, Brown, and UPenn Wharton.
A first-generation high school graduate isn’t made in four years, or even fourteen. It’s made in the seemingly ordinary moments in between. A teacher checking in on a child after a difficult week, an administrator encouraging hidden talents in public speaking, and new friendships that blossom over the years into a chosen family.
Every morning, our youngest children gather in the courtyard before class and sing their version of “If You’re Happy and You Know” with their own twist of “If you’re happy and you know it, say good morning!” and start their day surrounded by people who love and care for them. Not every day is easy, but these moments together are important. They become part of the foundation that helps our children grow into confident young adults ready to pursue futures that seemed out of reach.
Prashanth graduated from Shanti Bhavan in 2021. This year, he graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in computer science.
High school graduation wasn’t the only exciting milestone at Shanti Bhavan this year.
A number of them graduated from college, including four who completed postgraduate programs. Every one of our postgraduate students is the first in their family’s history to earn a master’s degree. Our graduates are starting roles at organizations including Dimension Energy, TENEX.AI, LabCorp, and Lufthansa. One is even building his own company from the ground up with another Shanti Bhavan graduate.
Our preschool children at Shanti Bhavan
While our Class of 2026 celebrated one milestone, another group of children was beginning the same journey. This year’s incoming preschool classes include 58 children who arrived on the Shanti Bhavan 1 and 2 campuses just weeks after graduation. Their parents made the same difficult choice Rakshita’s family made fourteen years ago. They don’t know exactly what the future will hold, but they believe their children deserve the opportunity to discover what they’re capable of. We’ll be here every step of the way, making sure they’re surrounded by people who believe in them too.
Thank you for being part of that journey.
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Gabrielle Mahesh, Associate Vice Principal
