Meet Natasha Verma: UT Graduate at 17
Talk about precocious. Natasha Verma, 17, Life Member, graduated Friday with degrees in broadcast journalism and biology. The Victoria native took her first college class at age 11 and hasn’t looked back since. On the Forty Acres, Verma founded her own talk show and breezed through double-major requirements in three years. She’ll soon move to New York City to start a master’s in broadcast journalism at Columbia. We asked Verma about the secret to her success.
The Alcalde: Why did you decide to start college so early?
Natasha Verma: I’m the type of person who’s always looking for a challenge, and high school wasn’t it. So I just did college and high school at the same time. When I earned my high school diploma, I also got an associate’s degree in science from Victoria College. I encourage anyone who wants a challenge to think outside the box and go for it. It just takes hard work and initiative.
Q: Why UT?
A: I’ve always had a passion for broadcast journalism, and UT is the place to go to study that! I started UT’s morning talk show, Good Morning Texas, on Texas Student Television. Producing that show has been an amazing experience. At SXSW, I’ve interviewed Will Ferrell, Blake Mycoskie (the guy who founded TOMS shoes), and Jon Landau (the producer of Avatar).
Q: What did you talk about with Will Ferrell?
A: His new movie, Casa de Mi Padre. He was goofy.
Q: Did you feel you fit in at UT, being so young?
A: Oh, absolutely. I have really supportive friends and family who believe in me. And I look older than my age, so that helps.
Q: How did friends react when you told them your age?
A: They say things like, ‘Oh my god, seriously?’ People are speechless when they find out. But I’m mature, I prove myself, and I work hard, so it’s not really a big deal. President Powers did send me a personal letter saying congratulations, though. That was a great example of why I love UT.
Q: What’s your ultimate goal?
A: I’d love to start my own show on television or online, or work as a media producer. I want to travel the world and tell people’s stories.
Photo courtesy Natasha Verma.
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2 Comments
Outstanding achievement. But tragic experience. The beauty of UT Austin was coming of age while attending school. Coming in a teen ager and leaving an adult. Taking late night walks through the Big Six with someone you liked from Jetser. Drinking beers at the Hole in the Wall on the Drag when you turned 21. Joining organizations when you were 18 only to look back at the age of 22 and think how silly. Growing up in an environment where mistakes are made and yet the consequences are often not life changing; hearts loved, broken and mended; and taking wield classes, changing majors and then dropping wierd classes. While Natasha did interview big names, and created talk shows, (kudos), this little girl (and her parents for not stopping this fanatic meteoric rise) cheated herself of the true experience of UT. And is such single minded focus good at such a young age? We condemn the parents of Chinese gymnasts who do the same…uber excelleration. And yet here we are, celebrating on the front page of our alumni magazine, “our” mental gymnast graduating from college before she can vote. What a shame…she is 17 and middle aged. And she missed the best years…
I agree with L. Lopez that it is a shame that Ms.Verma is 17 and has been vaulted to adulthood. I graduated from UT at 20 and have spent the last 42 years catching up! Why? Because, you never get the developmental and maturing years back when you speed past your life. Academically and intellectually you may be light years ahead of your peers but socially you never quite catch up! Some things like living life at the speed of life are meant to be! What is the hurry? Being bored is not a good enough reason to embrace all the challenges of adulthood when you are still a child. Success in life isn’t about looking older. Challenges can wait because they will be there at any age. Living life in the moment will soon be a very rare experience. Why does Ms. Velma feel a compulsion to hurry to the next challenge? What is the rush? We will soon all be living into our ninth decade and beyond. Is the world going to be adversely affected by a “tween” remaining a young person? Do precocious individuals have to skip out of the normal experiences which once passed will never return? My qualified answer is a resounding NO! Take your time and truly experience living in the moment. Our world and living circumstances catapult us quite effectively without adding momentum. Parents need to protect their precocious offspring and restrain the tendencies to advance them academically. There are many different kinds of learning to be explored and enjoyed. I have lived my life at the speed of light because adults worried that I would not be sufficiently challenged. Mistake, mistake, mistake! Cast out the vainglory and the ego. Children need to be children when it is their time to be children. Adulthood assaults us soon enough! Why spend you adult years looking in the rear view mirror of life? Ms. Velma can give me a call so that I can personally elucidate further on the topic. agg