2023 grads: Cooper's well-traveled Bhakta finds new home in Abilene

Editor's note; Abilene and Wylie school district commencements are this weekend. Featured Wednesday is Mansi Bhakta of Cooper. Coming Thursday is ATEMS. On Friday it's Wylie, and Saturday, the series concludes with Abilene High.

Life for Mansi Bhakta so far has been a journey.

From her home in Bardoli, in extreme west India, she went to Liberal, Kansas, then to West Texas. In a few months, she'll continue her American trek farther south to College Station, to begin classes at Texas A&M.

The Bhakta family chose Abilene because there already was family in Texas.

"We were the only ones in India," she said, smiling. "They were forcing us, like 'Y'all need to move here.'"

Did they really say "y'all?"

"No," she said, laughing. "That is my Texan accent."

The family spreads out globally

Bhakta did well her 2-plus years at Cooper, making friends and finishing sixth academically in the Class of 2023.

"It was very different," she said of finishing her schooling in Abilene. "For me, changing to a whole new country across the globe, though I had experience with America, going to school is a little different than coming here to visit."

She moved to the U.S. at 13 for her eighth-grade year.

"The main motive was for me to gain better knowledge through educational opportunities because there is so much over here for students," she said. An older brother moved to the U.S. in 2013 and lived in California with an aunt. A graduate of the University of California-Berkley, he now seeking his master's degree in New Jersey, with an aspiration to be a doctor.

The siblings' father is a ophthalmologist, still in India. He owns a private hospital, so he has to remain there, she said.

"My dad is to and fro, coming here and going back," she said.

Mansi Bhakta is headed in a similar direction, with plans to study biomedical engineering at A&M.

"My plan is to be a biomedical engineer and serve the medical field," Bhakta said. A biomedical engineer combines engineering principles with science know-how to design and create equipment, devices, computer systems and software.

"The deeper purpose of life for me is to serve humankind with my major and my career. Being in the biomedical field, I am indirectly helping the medicine field," she said.

Her mother has taken a different career path in life. She is a magazine editor who works from Abilene. The magazine is Kabirvani, named for the Hindu god Kabir, a 15th century Indian mystic. "Vani" translates to "talk," and Kabir's primary message is truth, love and simplicity.

"And that's what we try to follow in our community," she said. "He kept it simple."

Finding a home at Cooper

She lived in Liberal, which is about 270 miles southwest of Abilene, Kansas, for year, living with an uncle as she started high school. Her mother arrived and, together, they moved to Abilene.

Bhakta said she found a small community of students from what we say is her "neck of the woods." That demographic in Abilene is growing but the combined Asian population is 2-3 percent

"But there were other other communities I have mixed in with," she said. These would be groups that have shared interests. "They have all been welcoming and friendly to me. Abilene is a great city. The welcome is very nice.

"We have the same interests although we are from different descents."

She said that at Cooper, she fell into her comfort zone rather than feeling like the new kid on the block.

"I gained a lot of new experiences as I go off to college now," she said.

That included being a member of the Abilene ISD Super Crew. Students representing their schools meet about every six weeks with district administrators and board members to provide their perspective on education.

"We were giving feedback on what we feel is going on in a group discussion," she said. "They are actually very happy to hear from us and get to know us and hear a student's perspective, unbiased. We try to keep it unbiased."

Bhakta also was a member of cross country and track teams, and a member of FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America). They enter competitions, using money from projects and donations. She was involved through her Cooper career.

A hobby?

Painting.

"I love painting. I have been painting from a very young age," she said, saying she took at classes at Liberal and Cooper high schools. She prefers landscapes but also does still life.

"It really depends on my mood," she said, smiling.

Reflecting on her short but meaningful time at Cooper, Bhakta said the reality of graduation has set upon her.

"I think it's all starting to hit me now. Am I really graduating?" she has wondered.

Off to Aggieland

Bhakta is wide-eyed about going to A&M, which has almost 60,000 undergraduates.

"I am definitely scared but excited because I already have a community there. I have a group of cousins who go there and will be really helpful the first year, at least," she said. Most are studying in the engineering field.

Her mother may move with her since she otherwise would be left alone here. Or return to India.

If mom moves to Aggieland, Bhakta said she still would live on campus

"She wants me to be independent," Bhakta said.

Something, it seems, the Cooper grad-to-be already has experienced.

Commencement schedule

FRIDAY

• 7 p.m. - Premier High School, Paramount Theatre; Wylie High School, Taylor County Coliseum

• 8 p.m. - Cooper High School, Shotwell Stadium

SATURDAY

• 8:30 a.m. - ATEMS, Shotwell Stadium

• 8 p.m. - Abilene, Shotwell Stadium

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: 2023 grads: Cooper's well-traveled Bhakta finds new home in Abilene