Thanksgiving break last year marked a memorable reunion for Ananya Premkumar, then a senior at Midlothian High School. She met with her old calculus study group, including Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, a freshman at Brown University, to catch up after their recent graduation.
Plans were made to meet again during winter break, but tragedy struck before that could happen. Umurzokov and another student, Ella Cook, were victims in a shooting incident on Brown University’s campus in Providence, Rhode Island, on December 13, which left nine others injured.
Premkumar reached out to Umurzokov’s phone that night, unaware of the unfolding events. Her hopes for a reply were dashed the next day as social media tributes and a GoFundMe page confirmed the devastating news.
“That was just the moment where I started bawling my eyes out,” Premkumar recalled. “I truly did think that he was going to be OK. It just really didn’t feel real.”
Umurzokov had been a significant support during Premkumar’s college application journey, offering advice that continued even after he began his studies at Brown. She expressed her longing to share her acceptance news with him. “He passed away before I even got my offers,” she wrote in a LinkedIn post this summer. “When he was here, I shared my (early decisions and early action) rejections with him, but he would cheer me on.”
In memory of Umurzokov, Premkumar decided to choose a college that aligned with her aspirations and where she could make a difference, hoping to honor him in her achievements.
The University of Virginia became her choice, drawn by its vibrant culture and the unique, interdisciplinary curriculum of the School of Engineering and Applied Science. This choice mirrored her diverse interests, which had seen her actively engaged in community initiatives like the Chesterfield Youth Advisory Board, varsity tennis, and the founding of Midlothian’s AI Club during high school.
Premkumar continues to pursue her passions at UVA, working on projects such as developing a machine-learning model to predict Alzheimer’s risk, while also teaching programming and game development to young learners.
Read More Here
Comments are closed.