Meet Varkshini Maheswaran – Sophisteia Award winner for highest GPA in C’2025

For many students, senior year is a whirlwind of deadlines, future plans, and the final push toward graduation. Amidst this chaos, Varkshini, a dedicated math and health sciences major, found an unexpected sanctuary in the most unlikely of places: her art history class.

Initially, the class felt like an outlier in Varkshini’s schedule, a stark contrast to the world of equations and scientific principles she was used to. But as she delved into the stories behind each painting, something shifted. The art, with its “rich symbolism and quiet intensity,” began to captivate her. It became more than just a class; it was a weekly ritual of “decompression and groundedness.”

With art history as an intellectual reset button, Varkshini learned that she was, at her core, a “heart person,” guided by intuition as much as by logic.

As Varkshini moves on from Salem, this lesson is more relevant than ever. She’s currently in Tallahassee, embarking on the next chapter of her academic life: a Ph.D. in Biomathematics at Florida State University.

Her story is a powerful reminder that some of the most important lessons we learn at Salem aren’t found in our major’s curriculum, but in the unexpected paths we take along the way.