Johns Hopkins names girl with Chennai roots ‘world’s brightest’

WASHINGTON: Indian-American schoolgirl Natasha Perianayagam was named in the “world’s brightest” students list for the second consecutive year by the US-based Johns Hopkins Center For Talented Youth, based on the results of above-grade-level tests of over 15,000 students across 76 countries.

Perianayagam, 13, is a student at Florence M Gaudineer Middle School, in New Jersey. She also took the Johns Hopkins Center For Talented Youth (CTY) test in Spring 2021, when she was a Grade 5 student.

Her results in the verbal and quantitative sections levelled with the 90th percentile of advanced Grade 8 performance, which catapulted her into the honours list that year.

This year, she was honoured for her exceptional performance on the SAT, ACT, School and College Ability Test, or similar assessment taken as part of the CTY Talent Search.

Perianayagam, whose parents hail from Chennai, said she loves doodling and reading JRR Tolkien in spare time.

CTY used above-grade-level testing to identify advanced students from around the world and provide a clear picture of their academic abilities.

According to the university, Perianayagam was among the 15,300 students from 76 countries who joined CTY in the 2021-22 Talent Search year.