Community Corner

Whiz Kid: Freshman Anushka Sarkar Reaches Forensics State Finals

Anushka Sarkar will be the only high school freshman competing at the state spring forensics competition, according to her mother.

Every week, Patch spotlights young people in the West Bloomfield community who are successful, talented and just plain awesome. We're pleased to introduce this week's Whiz Kid:

Anushka Sarkar

  • Age: 14
  • School:
  • Achievement: Anushka will be the only freshman high school student competing at the Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association spring conference and tournament May 20-22 at Mackinac Island, according to her mother, Anu Sarkar. Anushka started at WBHS in September and was quickly moved to the varsity forensics team after doing well in independently-researched topics such as capital punishment and the place of homosexuality in American society. Anushka also participates in the National Kidney Foundation the annual Kidney Walk event at the Detroit Zoo among other community and charitable events.

    Somehow, Anushka has found time to participate in the drama department at WBHS and had a small role in its spring production, "." She's also a talented pianist.
  • Key to awesomeness: Anushka is self-motivated. "As of last week, she wants to be a neurosurgeon when she grows up," Anu Sarkar said. "She's changed her mind a few times in her life, but as her parents, we've always said that we'll support her, no matter what ... We never ask her to do her homework and she comes up with the topics of her debates. She's very level-headed and more mature for her age than she needs to be. She's really flourishing at WBHS."

Do you know a special young person in the community who deserves a round of applause because he volunteers instead of playing video games after school? Or maybe your daughter's science club is trying to challenge the way we think about the energy crisis? Or maybe your son's lacrosse team won its first game in three years? Everyone deserves a little attention, and we want to tell these stories.

So email your Whiz Kid nominations to Editor Tim Rath at Tim.Rath@Patch.com. Please include the name, age, school, achievement and key to awesomeness, as well as a photo. Then come back every Wednesday for our Whiz Kid spotlight; you never know who will be up next.

Find out what's happening in West Bloomfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from West Bloomfield