Hi, I'm Karina!
I am 17 years old and the author of Six-Point Star. I'm passionate about using the power of literacy to advocate for social change. I love working with kids of all different backgrounds, serving as an ambassador for global nonprofit Loving Library, a volunteer tutor for Ukrainian refugees at ENGin, one of My Tasty Table's founders, and youth mentor for the Swift Youth Foundation. As a Bollywood dancer, professional commercial actress, and theatre performer, I am also heavily involved in the arts. Having recently spent my summer working for a lobbying firm right on Capitol Hill, I dream of one day entering a career in politics.
My Story
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I thought of the idea for Six-Point Star after the Israel-Hamas conflict escalated on October 7th, 2023. I observed how the students at my school, who were already very culturally divisive, began to use religious differences as a means to discriminate against each other. My family is Indian, and I grew up learning about the India-Pakistan Partition. The two events struck me as very similar, both in terms of how they happened and their impacts on the people around me.
I wrote Six-Point Star with the aspiration of opening up conversations about religion. I hope that, one day, religion will no longer be used as a source of isolation and that religious differences can be celebrated, not feared.
I think it’s so important that we are willing to learn about each other. Often, discrimination and bias stem from ignorance and a general lack of empathy towards people who are different from yourself.
My book highlights the importance of learning about the cultural identities of those around you, and how that will lead to the realization that though two people may come from different ethnic backgrounds, they really aren’t so different.
However, this prospect isn’t limited to cultural identity. Regardless of someone’s race, gender, socio-economic background, or religion, being willing to learn about the way another person lives will lead to a more understanding world. I hope this is the message people will gather from Six-Point Star.