Madhalasa Iyer: The Princeton student merging literature and science to change mindsets

(March 15, 2024) Indian-origin, Texas-based Madhalasa Iyer was appalled when she learned that in her district, a 13-year-old African-American boy was forced by his peers to drink his own urine. They even recorded the inhuman incident while yelling racial slurs at the victim. As she read the news and discussed the hate crime with her friends, Madhalasa learned of many more instances of discrimination and racism in her own district.

In 2019, to help change societal mindsets, she founded Team Motley, an initiative emphasising the importance of solidarity for human equality. As part of her drive, she wrote a book titled ‘Motley’ to drive home the message of social equality. Later, the scope of her organisation expanded to include advocacy for environmental action.

In addition to her work on social discrimination and the environment crisis, Madhalasa is working on a manuscript on phytomedicine to emphasise the benefits of ancient medicinal techniques.

Madhalasa Iyer

The author, researcher, speaker, and environmentalist has received several awards for her multifaceted talent, including recognition for her writing by the Alliance for Artists and Writers and the New York Life Foundation, as one of the six teen artists and writers chosen across the US.

In 2023, as one of the Coca-Cola Scholars, Madhalasa Iyer was awarded a $20,000 college scholarship for her contributions to bring positive change in her community. She is currently pursuing neuroscience at Princeton University.

“I work on things that I am genuinely passionate about and this keeps me motivated,” Madhalasa tells Global Indian.

What does Team Motley do?

As an international initiative, Team Motley distributes books, stories, and artworks promoting acceptance, inclusion, and biodiversity to children and youth worldwide. These materials are created by teenagers who aim to share positive messages on these themes with children across the globe.

“We started by publishing our own children’s book, Motley, which discusses discrimination on a broader level, seeking to combat racism and bias in our society,” Madhalasa shares.

She and her team have successfully established Team Motley’s chapters in Texas and Washington State in the US, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, and Ismailia and Cairo in Egypt.

Talking about Motley’s other branch, environmental advocacy, Madhalasa remarks, “It was already a big part of my life considering I grew up watching my grandmother build our own greenhouse. I have participated in environmental advocacy since 2018 but added it to Team Motley in 2022.”

Cover image of Madhalasa Iyer’s book Motley

Supported by grants from nonprofits such as Discovery Education, American Service Alliance, the Hershey Foundation, USC Shoah, and the National Century Foundation, as well as through community fundraising, Team Motley now has more than 2,500 participants in five countries.

Emphasising on changing mindsets for making life of youngsters easier, Madhalasa remarks, “Children are often the most susceptible to society’s opinions and social influences. Therefore, building a community of acceptance will promote inclusion for future generations, regardless of their skin colour or ethnic background.”

For its impactful work, her Team Motley has received several awards and recognition from organisations such as the Plano ISD Diversity and Inclusion Board.

Madhalasa attributes the success of her initiatives to her team members at Team Motley.

Merging science with writing

Although Madhalasa is currently pursuing Neuroscience at Princeton, she is passionate about creative writing as well. She has attended the Iowa Young Writers Studio and the Sarah Lawrence Writing Camp (sponsored by the National Anthony Quinn Foundation with a merit-based scholarship). In these programmes, the budding writer got an opportunity to develop her writing skills by garnering tips and advice from the luminaries from the world of writing.

Merging her interest in science and her passion for writing, Madhalasa Iyer has published scientific work at IEEE, Journal of Student Research, Mentoring in Medicine Journal, and the Curieux Academic Journal.

Madhalasa Iyer while receiving an award

With the purpose of bringing the benefits of phytomedicine (herbal medicine with therapeutic and healing properties) to the fore; she is working on a manuscript on the subject. “It explores use of phytomedicine techniques in the ancient Chinese traditional medicinal practices, Vedic Indian scriptures, Native American treatments and mediaeval medicine practices,” she mentions.

An avid researcher, Madhalasa has presented her scientific research findings at esteemed platforms like the International SusTech Conference, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Southern California Undergraduate Conference (SCCUR), the Harvard Research Club at NYC, the Harvard Science Research Conference, and the Texas Science and Humanities Symposium. She has also given talks at TEDx and EarthX (world’s largest green gathering held annually around Earth Day in Dallas, Texas).

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Writing for change

For her work as an author, environmentalist and social justice advocate Madhalasa has been recognised by national organisations of the US like the Discovery Education, YoungArts, Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, Leyla Beban Author’s Foundation, Anthony Quinn Foundation, Century Foundation, University of Washington, New York Life Foundation, National Rifle Association (NRA), the Coca-Cola Foundation, and Elks Organization among others.

Her literary works (prose and poetry) have been published in journals like the Cathartic Literary Magazine, The Weight Journal, Scars Publications, Literary Yard, Poetry Nation, Plain View Magazine, Bluefire Magazine, amongst others.

The numerous awards and recognition that she received for writing, has motivated Madhalasa in using the power of the pen to cultivate change. “Each of us have the ability to use our words or work of art to illustrate positive messages and ideas to our community and we should use it” she mentions.

Madhalasa Iyer after receiving one of her awards

Stronger than Hate Challenge

In 2021 when Madhalasa was still in high school, she bagged first place and won a $6000 scholarship in the ‘Stronger Than Hate Challenge’. Created to inspire middle school and high school students, the annual competition is conducted for students aged 13 and up in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. 

Since the event emphasises the role of social-emotional learning in empowering students to overcome hate, and encourages young people to use their voices to connect with the community, Madhalasa had got interested in participating.

Inspired by, Madhalasa had created the multimedia poem titled ‘Where Were You’ emphasising the significance of standing up for what’s right in order to stop history from repeating itself. 

“If we can all speak out against discrimination, our war on division the holocaust survivor Tamara Branitsky is won and acts such as genocide and atrocities would only be present in the pages of history,” Madhalasa believes. 

Rising above odds 

Although the Texas-based youngster has written several literary pieces and scientific research papers, and given talks at platforms like EarthX and TEDx, her journey of developing into a confident communicator has not been a smooth ride. 

She was born in California but spent the first eight years of her life in Nepal and India. As an eight-year-old with a strong Indian accent, when Madhalasa moved to the US, she was looked down upon for her cadence and tone. “During my early schooling years, I struggled at grammar and writing tests. It took me years of continual accent therapy to rebuild the confidence that I had lost,” Madhalasa shares. But a creative bent of mind, dedication towards self-improvement, and love for reading kept her going in her self-enhancement initiatives. 

 “A combination of determination and support from my parents, family, and friends enabled me to overcome my speech and writing challenges, ultimately paving a way for me to become an author and a speaker,” she remarks. 

Madhalasa Iyer with Scholastic Art and Writing Awards

With the attitude and experience of rising above challenges, Madhalasa Iyer aspires to create a world ‘where equality isn’t a question and where people sow the seeds of environmental action for the betterment of the future generation’. “As a citizen of the world, I wish to be an active contributor towards these changes.” She signs off.

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