BEST & BRIGHTEST: Aspiring surgeon makes 'em laugh

TO OUR READERS: This is one in a series of stories featuring The Gazette's Best & Brightest high school seniors, class of 2009.

For someone with as serious a dream as becoming a brain surgeon, Aparna Kailasam will undoubtedly continue finding ways to make people laugh.

The Rampart High School senior uses jokes - often corny puns - to bring a smile to those around her. Sometimes the jokes are so bad, as her friends will attest, Kailasam might be the only one laughing as others are rolling their eyes. But then that's funny, too.

"It seems the older you get, life gets really stressful with health problems and mental problems," Kailasam said. "You can relax if you laugh - it really is the best medicine. People who are happy live longer than people who are stressed out."

But make no mistake: Kailasam is serious about her studies.

As a junior, she began working in the molecular biology lab at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. She launched a project to "determine the role of specific proteins in amino acid transport in a yeast cell."

As a junior volunteer at Memorial Hospital, she was selected for the Learning Link program and spent hours watching doctors work.

"It's humbling to see some of the patients who come in," Kailasam said. "I feel really grateful for all I have."

And, of course, she passed a few jokes to patients who needed a spirit lifter.

"She has shown a high enthusiasm to learn, an inquisitive mind, and a positive attitude while observing at the hospital," wrote the hospital's Youth Programs coordinator Maurie Diamond-Lucero. "Her talents are clearly matched well for a future career in medicine."

Kailasam also found the time to study hard enough to earn her the No. 1 academic ranking among her senior classmates at Rampart.

"I think my ability to find humor in any situation, from a chemistry lecture on electrochemical cells to a history lesson on Stalin, allows me to think creatively," Kailasam wrote.

"She is aware of how much she has and how much she can give, and she intends to give no less," wrote Lilian Malers, a Rampart college counselor. "I admire not only her drive, but also her resourcefulness - and graciousness."

APARNA KAILASAM
Rampart High School

Parents: Venkatesan and Jayanthi Kailasam

College plans: University of Denver

If you had a million dollars, which philanthropic organization would you form and why?

"I would start an organization that provides for free education in Third World countries: free public school and free universities. Education is the foundation for success in life."

Other details: Co-valedictorian; Boettcher Scholar; National Merit Scholarship Program - Commended Student; National Honor Society; Future Business Leaders of America - first-place award; co-founded a UNICEF chapter at Rampart.