The Harvard Gazette recently featured Myra Bhathena, a Currier House senior from Andover, Massachusetts, as part of its annual tradition documenting the evolution of six undergraduates from their first days on campus through senior year. The long-running project — inspired by Nora Ephron’s famous message to the Wellesley Class of 1996 that “You are not going to be you, fixed and immutable you, forever” — pairs portraits by Gazette photographer Stephanie Mitchell with each student’s evolving self-descriptions across four years.
Bhathena, whose three descriptive words trace a journey of growing capability and compassion, reflected deeply on her final year. “I’m a naturally sentimental person,” she told the Gazette. “As a senior, it’s making everything a little bit more sentimental for me. I’m just trying to soak it all in.”
An economics concentrator with a secondary in global health and health policy and on the pre-med track, Bhathena has embraced an academically intense path. Her junior year, she said, pushed her rigorously — but also revealed her own resilience.
“I’ve been building skills throughout my almost four years here, so it has made me capable. I’m a more confident person.”
For her senior thesis, Bhathena is tackling one of the nation’s most urgent public health challenges: non-communicable diseases, focusing specifically on diabetes. She notes that diabetes represents a “huge epidemic that America is currently dealing with, which is predicted to get worse.”
In addition to her academic commitments, Bhathena has spent the past three years serving as a section leader for EC 10, Harvard’s foundational introductory economics course. Initially intimidating, the role became one of her most meaningful experiences.
“It was a little daunting at first,” she said, “but I have learned that I am capable of teaching concepts and connecting with students, and I found a lot of meaning through that role.”
Even as her academic interests and confidence have expanded, one value has remained constant since she first arrived on campus: the primacy of relationships.
As a first-year, Bhathena told the Gazette, “Building relationships is the most important thing to me. I believe it is important to have empathy and show love for others.” Now, on the cusp of graduation, that belief has only deepened.
“I am a very loving person, but that’s because I’ve been lucky enough to be loved so much by my family, by my friends in College and out of College. I chose that one [word] as the last one, because I think it’s my favorite quality of mine — that I am lucky to have so many people that love me.”
Across four years documented by Stephanie Mitchell’s lens, Bhathena’s story is one of expanding capability, sustained empathy, and a deepened sense of self. As she prepares to leave Harvard, the qualities she treasures most — curiosity, confidence, and love — stand at the forefront of her next chapter.
To read the full story on the Harvard Gazette website, please click here.
