CTYA’s Blog Team has started a new Feature on Fridays, Thulirkal. Thulirkal meaning “bud” reflects the young Tamil youth we will be featuring. These youth are the buds of our community, and are growing into strong, achieving young men and women! Each week we will feature a Tamil youth of the week. For more information or to suggest a youth to feature, please feel free to email us at blogs@ctya.org! This week Keerthana Raveendran from CTYA’s Blog Team interviewed Senthamil Stefi.
Senthamil Stefi is a young chemist with a deep passion for not only chemistry but also mentoring/inspiring youth. She is known for her YouTube channel that goes by the tag line “Senthamil Things”. She uses this medium to reach out and connect to a large audience of Tamil youth all around the world.
CTYA Blog Team: Thank you Senthamil Stefi for sitting down with us today. So, let’s get warmed up. Ok, now don’t think, just say what first comes to mind in one word. 1, 2, 3…
SALT OR SUGAR?
Senthamil Stefi: Sugar
BOOKS OR MOVIES?
Senthamil Stefi: Movies
COKE OR PEPSI?
Senthamil Stefi: Pepsi
SUN OR MOON?
Senthamil Stefi: The Moon =)
CTYA Blog Team: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Senthamil Stefi: My real name is Stefi and I’m a recent organic chemistry MSc graduate from UTSG who’s currently on a job hunt. Since I was young I have always loved mentoring people, generally those who were younger than me, which is what led me to YouTubing. I love to keep myself involved with the community. During my spare time I swim and play the piano.
CTYA Blog Team: What made you take on the role of Senthamil Stefi? How did the term ‘senthamil’ come to preface your name? Tell us a little about the Tamil speaking challenge you brought about.
Senthamil Stefi: Growing up, I have always loved mentoring those who were younger than me. During my undergraduate years at the University of Western Ontario, I held onto positions such as the Science Team Leader for the university’s Leadership and Mentorship Program (LAMP) in my final year. At the University of Toronto, I always went out of my way to advise my students in the six sections I TA-ed (organic chemistry) even outside of class hours. To expand the scope of the youth I could reach out to, I decided to start a YouTube channel, but with a focus on inspiring and relating to the Tamil youth community. I wanted to become the akka that Tamil kids can come to for advice about absolutely anything..
In terms of “Senthamil” coming to preface my name.. that’s all my dad. Over the course of about six months, I did a lot of convincing with my parents to approve of me getting a YouTube channel. I respect and love my parents a lot so I figured I should get their approval first especially when putting myself out there on a huge social media platform. I wanted them to hear it from me first. On the night of June 21st, 2012, my parents agreed to me starting a YouTube channel to serve the purpose of inspiring and relating to kids all around the world. We actually spent nearly 3 hours together that night trying to come up with a Tamil name to put in front of my own name. Finally, after going through a whole list of possibilities, my dad found the tag to my name that I truly loved – “Senthamil”.
Thus far, I have brought about two “Tamil-speaking” challenges. The reason as to why I’ve been bringing up these challenges is because we are the middle generation between the old and the new. If we do in fact want to preserve our language, it’s essentially up to us. How on earth can we expect our language to be preserved if we ourselves aren’t even comfortable speaking it? I want people to be able to be confident with what they know and be able to speak it regardless of the amount of Tamil they know. If we’re scared to speak it because of the lack of knowledge or our westernized accent, how will we be able to remember the little knowledge we know and even improve on it?
CTYA Blog Team: How do you decide on the topics of your videos?
Senthamil Stefi: Generally, the topics I come up with are topics that I feel are relatable to our youth today. I also do topics that I feel need to be brought to the forefront to raise awareness. Furthermore, I am always up for suggestions from my viewers (who I essentially consider my friends =)). I love engaging with them.
CTYA Blog Team: At the description of your videos, you often put the following quote: ““Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind, don’t matter and those who matter, don’t mind.” – Dr. Seuss”. What does this quote mean to you personally?
Senthamil Stefi: This quote is something I hold very close to me and preach to today’s youth. In life, not everyone will like you…but that’s okay. The purpose of our lives is not to prove to others that we’re worthy and try to fit in. The purpose of our lives is to stay true to ourselves as we go about our own journeys. Growing up, I came across a lot of different types of people and still do. Many will be judgmental, while only a small portion will genuinely care and not “judge” you. At the end of the day “haters will hate”…. You just have to shrug it off and carry on. 🙂
CTYA Blog Team: How do you define Tamil identity?
Senthamil Stefi: When I think of “Tamil Identity”, I think of our history, our struggle, our language, and our rich culture.
CTYA Blog Team: What are your plans for the future?
Senthamil Stefi: I want to work in a big pharmaceutical company while continuing my YouTube channel on the side. I want to continue my involvement with the Canadian and Tamil community as well as helping orphans back home.
CTYA Blog Team: Finish the sentence. “To me, Tamil youth are…”
Senthamil Stefi: To me, Tamil youth are the key to bringing justice to our people back home. To me, Tamil youth are OUR FUTURE.
CTYA Blog Team: Anything else you’d like to add?
Senthamil Stefi: This is for everyone out there →“Why fit in, when you were born to stand out?” – Dr. Seuss 😉
Thanks Senthamil Stefi for sharing your thoughts today. We hope other youth use your story as motivation to continue to pursue their passions and use their skills for the betterment of our community!
Catch up with us next Friday where we’ll be bringing you another Talented Tamil youth story! For more information or to suggest a youth to feature, please feel free to email us at blogs@ctya.org!
