From Founding Educator to Lifelong Mentor: The Story of Ms. Agrawal
“Ms. Agrawal’s journey shows how her passion, hard work, and support for others can shape a person’s life.”
Ms. Agrawal is a leader in the world of education, known for her passion for STEM and her dedication to inspiring the next generation of problem-solvers. She is one of the founding members of Comp Sci High and currently serves as the Director of Data and Chair of the Computer Science Department. She has played an essential role in shaping the school's academic excellence. Previously a Physics teacher, she now teaches AP Calculus and AP Computer Science A, bringing her expertise and enthusiasm to every classroom she leads. Despite the challenges of navigating traditionally male-dominated fields, she has never wavered in her pursuit of knowledge and her dream to make an impact through STEM education. This is Ms. Agrawal’s story.
Part 1: The Story
Ms. Agrawal was born in Rhode Island and is an only child. Ms. Agrawal’s early life was shaped by a rich blend of cultural influences and her family’s resilience. Her parents grew up in India and attended a prestigious engineering college called IIT Kharagpur. Her mother was one of very few women at the school, while her father was among over four hundred male students in his graduating class. Both parents earned their Bachelor’s degrees in Engineering, exemplifying analytical, mathematical, and critical thinking skills that would later influence Ms. Agrawal’s upbringing.
Basketball has always been present in Ms. Agrawal’s life. When she was young, she had a deep love for basketball. Both of her parents played basketball in college, and her dad still plays to this day. She was the captain of her high school varsity basketball team, and today she participates in a weekly women’s basketball league. Basketball has taught her discipline, work ethic, and the importance of teamwork. Whenever she feels stressed, she turns to basketball, a passion she has cherished since childhood.
During the very early years of her childhood, Ms. Agrawal spent about two years of her life with her grandparents in Bangalore, India marking a pivotal chapter in her life. In India, Ms. Agrawal’s mornings began with prayers alongside her grandmother and picking flowers outside. She often accompanied her grandfather on errands, including trips to a local milk seller. The milk was packaged in plastic pouches. She still remembers how the milk was packaged– in plastic pouches instead of cartons – because she had never seen anything like that in America.
In school Ms. Agrawal initially faced a language barrier, being the only English speaker in her class. Despite this, she enjoyed being in the classroom and immersing the classroom culture while eating the cheese sandwich her grandfather made for her.
After a few years, she returned to America and settled in New York City. Growing up, Ms. Agrawal always saw women in STEM fields–her mother and many other women in her family were in the field–so it felt natural to her. She never thought twice about being one of the few girls in her AP Physics C class at Stuyvesant High School; she was simply excited to learn and kept pushing forward. Even though all of her friends weren’t in the same classes and not every student looked like her, she still continued to stay motivated and excelled academically, eventually earning her acceptance to MIT.
However, after her acceptance, a boy in her physics class remarked, “It’s because you’re a girl that you got into MIT.” This moment stood out to her because, for the first time, she felt that being a girl in STEM was seen as different. She didn’t agree with that perspective, and ever since, she has been committed to ensuring young girls at Comp Sci High and beyond never feel the way she did in that moment.
When Ms. Agrawal began her undergraduate studies at MIT, she initially declared a physics major but soon switched to computer science. Her exposure to both physics and computer science in high school had sparked her interest in these fields, with physics being her “first true love.” However, upon entering college, she found the theoretical aspects of physics challenging and realized they did not align with her interests. This led her to transition to computer science, a field she felt was a better fit for her skills and passions.
After graduating from MIT, Ms. Agrawal worked at Google as a Product Manager for three years. During her time there, she contributed to impactful projects in education, focusing on bringing educational data and information to the forefront. Her work made it easier for users across the U.S., India, and other countries to access critical information about college and exams through Google Search. One of her projects, linked here, showcases this work (Blog Post by Google).
Despite the excitement of reaching a global audience, Ms. Agrawal realized she wanted to make a deeper, more personal impact. While she could see data showing how people were using her products, she discovered that her true passion lay in interacting directly with people, rather than simply analyzing the outcomes of her work. This realization led to, in her words, “most important career decision” – stepping away from her role at Google to pursue something more meaningful.
In that moment, the idea of moving to a role in education was not completely out of the blue. Ms. Agrawal always had a deep interest in education, a passion that began during her high school years. She spent her summers volunteering at government schools in India, working with children, and found the experience both enjoyable and rewarding. However, her true passion for education blossomed during her college years.
At MIT, she joined a student mentorship group that worked with high school students in the Boston area. In this role, she collaborated with principals from various schools, recruited students, and worked closely with teachers. It was also her first experience writing curriculum. Most importantly, it was during this time that she truly fell in love with the field of education. From that moment on, Ms. Agrawal knew she wanted to dedicate her career to working with schools after college.
After making this decision to leave Google and lean into the field of education, Ms. Agrawal met Mr. Noah, who was then the founder of Comp Sci High. At the time, the school hadn’t officially launched, but Ms. Agrawal expressed a strong interest in joining his team. Mr. Noah hired her as a founding Physics teacher for the school. Later, he told me that this was because she “was clearly brilliant and passionate about education work.”
Since then, the rest has been history. Ms. Agrawal has taken on various teaching positions at Comp Sci, gaining a wealth of experience along the way. Through it all, she knew this was ultimately the career path she was meant to follow. As Mr. Noah said, seven years after he hired her: “What I learned in the years that followed is that Ms. Agrawal is among the most committed, smartest educators I've ever worked with, and I'm grateful every day that she agreed to have dinner with me seven years ago and join our founding team.”
Two people who inspired Ms. Agrawal to pursue a career in education were both of her grandmothers, both of whom were teachers themselves. She grew up idolizing them and understood the value of teaching and education. Her entire family prioritized the true value of education above all else. It was very important for her parents to find the best school opportunities and education for her. The reason her family moved to the United States after college was that they wanted to pursue higher education. Education has always been a central theme in her family.
Ms. Agrawal plays a multifaceted role at the school, serving as a 9th-grade advisor, teaching AP Computer Science A and AP Calculus, and overseeing the computer science department as chair. In this role, she ensures the smooth operation of computer science courses, supports teachers, and, alongside the team of CS teachers, makes sure the course progression is logical, such as how students build on the CS skills they learned in grade 9 as they move into 10th-grade computer science. She works with her Computer Science Department team to develop new courses and innovative strategies that enhance students’ learning experiences in computer science classes. She also introduced new pathways, like the cybersecurity pathway, and works to align the curriculum with real-world computing needs.
Additionally, as the Director of Data, Ms. Agrawal manages and analyzes school data, providing insights to staff and leadership. She helps identify trends, such as students struggling in their classes or attendance issues, enabling the development of targeted actions to improve student outcomes. By studying unit exam data and other performance indicators, she ensures that decisions are data-driven and that the school continuously improves in supporting students’ success.
In Ms. Agrawal’s classes, she wants students to know that she’s there for them when they need help. She is the person she is today because the people she was surrounded by believed in her. The classes she teaches, from 9th grade to 12th grade, are not simple by any means. But for each and every one of her students, she believes in them the same way others believed in her. When she sees a challenge, it’s an opportunity to learn, not something that’s going to get in our way. She wants students to know that hard work really works. She has high expectations for her students and holds them to a high standard because she knows that we can master these skills and develop a strong work ethic now. She knows it will serve us well for our future after high school. There’s a lot of beauty in problem-solving, and her hope for all of her students is that we get to experience that together at some point during our time in class.
Being a founding member at Comp Sci High has been one of the best career experiences for Ms. Agrawal. She had the chance to see the school grow, starting with just 20 staff members and 100 students in a small hallway at 1300, to where it is now – a beautiful, new building with nearly 500 students. This growth, both personally and for the school, has been very rewarding, especially as she has seen students graduate and new students join the school. Being part of the founding team gave Ms. Agrawal the chance to work with an amazing group of people from the start, including longtime colleagues like Mr. Noah, and many others who are still with the school today. These colleagues have become some of her closest friends and the people she works best with. The journey has been amazing, and Ms. Agrawal is very proud of the work being done at CompSciHigh.
Part 2: Staff and Student thoughts
I interviewed some students and staff about how they would describe Ms.Agrawal as a teacher, the lessons she taught them, and a memorable experience they had with her.
Fallou, an 11th grader at Comp Sci High, talked to me about how much growth he has made as both a person and a student, all thanks to Ms. Agrawal. He said he used to act “out of pocket” in class, and that Ms. Agrawal had patience and compassion for him, while still holding a line. “From these challenging moments,” Fallou said, “I now know how to self regulate at times where the environment is supposed to be serious.” He continued, saying she is a “very caring and inspiring teacher,” even describing her as “a perfect teacher that always goes above and beyond for her students' success in any field.”
Alfredo, a 12th grader at Comp Sci High, describes that Ms. Agrawal is one of the strongest teachers he ever had. He says, “She knows exactly where her students are at and clears up misunderstandings, even when the material is tough.” But the thing that makes her stand out is she always checks in on him after school. She always gives him a place to work in her office in the afternoon and she always supports him, “beyond just school.” She also taught him perseverance inside and outside of school. He says, “Not just through advice but the way she carries herself.” Ms. Agrawal helped him get museum tickets for his little sister when he couldn't afford a christmas gift for her at the time. It really meant a lot to Alfredo.
Monica, a 12th grader at Comp Sci High, describes that Ms. Agrawal is a “really caring teacher” who is invested in her students' learning, even when some students view her as a strict teacher. She also talks about how Ms. Agrawal teaches students to take responsibility and ownership of their learning. Monica said, “AP Calculus is a challenging class for me, and if I'm not on top of my learning, I will get left behind. Since Ms. Agrawal is a teacher who truly cares about your learning, she has implemented a new policy where she will hold you after school if you haven't completed your homework.” Because of this policy, Monica was able to receive the help on the content she was struggling with in class.
Jaroly, a 12th grader, says, “Ms. Agrawal is very enthusiastic when it comes to teaching AP-Calc. Even if she knows students don’t enjoy the class, she still tries to make it fun. She is always supportive when students need help and she always wants students to advocate for themselves when they need any support in class. When you ask her for one on one help she will always take her time to make sure you understand the topic before we have any other big assignments for the class. One lesson she taught me was even if something seems impossible there will always be a way to understand it and learn it.”
Mr. C describes Ms. Agrawal as having “very high expectations for her students, and she knows that her students are capable of learning almost everything.” As Mr. C worked with Ms. Agrawal throughout his education career, he learned a lot of lessons from her. She taught him how to push students even when problems felt challenging to solve. He also learned how to use data in his classes from Ms. Agrawal. This allowed him to see what changes need to be made in order for students to be successful in her class. One of his most memorable experiences with Ms. Agrawal was being able to have a project in Physics during the pandemic. He said, “we wanted to do some projects during the COVID pandemic and we wanted students to come in person so they can see how physics really works and how it relates to the lessons we taught during the pandemic. We wanted to make more hands-on projects and we wanted it to be exciting, even though the pandemic was going on.”
Mr. Mosley describes Ms. Agrawal as a “very thorough teacher. She studies the techniques of great teachers she's seen come before her and incorporates their styles into her own technique.” Ms. Agrawal really shows that she really cares about the work she does. She always has a plan, whether it's teaching her students or having meetings with teachers to see how students can grow from their classes. Mr. Mosley mentioned how he once had an interaction with Ms. Agrawal, and he shared some things about her which “were not the kindest.” But a few years later they were both able to overcome that interaction and they were able to develop the relationship they currently have. Mr. Mosley learned many lessons from Ms. Agrawal. One thing he told me that he learned from her was, “to sweat the small stuff.” Working with her allowed him to push his students a lot more in class and develop a strong follow-up with his students.
Part 3: Conclusion
Ms. Agrawal is one of those teachers who truly cares about her students, both academically and emotionally. She pushes us to excel in our academics overall while also reminding us that it’s okay to make mistakes and grow from them. Her genuine support—whether it’s helping with tough assignments or offering encouragement during personal challenges—sets her apart.
Ms. Agrawal’s journey shows how her passion, hard work, and support for others can shape a person’s life. From her love for basketball to her dedication to STEM and teaching, she has always believed in the power of challenges to help us grow. Her decision to leave Google and become an educator was driven by her desire to make a direct impact on students’ lives, and she has done just that at Comp Sci High.
At CompSciHigh, Ms. Agrawal has seen the school grow and thrive, and she takes pride in helping her students succeed. Through her work as a teacher and leader, she continues to inspire her students and colleagues, always encouraging them to believe in themselves and work hard. Her story is a reminder of the importance of following your passions and making a difference in the world.