My Projects & Events
Upcoming → Now
South Asian Mental Health Conference
— With the South Asian Mental Health Consortium, ICC West Valley and the Taarika Foundation
Moderator: Malavika Eby
Why is it so hard for teenagers to open up to their family members about their lives? And why is it so hard for parents to understand their children and what they’re really asking for from them? This spring, members from ICC West Valley and the Taarika Foundation coordinated to gather a panel of parents and teenagers to discuss mutually-held questions about the communication gap between adults and youth in South-Asian families. This conference is open to undergraduates, graduate students, and healthcare providers!
Saahas-Taarika Youth Collaborative Video Series on Mental Disorders
— With Saahas For Cause and the Taarika Foundation
Saahas For Cause and the Taarika Foundation are thrilled to present our youth collaborative video project about mental health disorders, led by Malavika Eby and Keya Gupta. So far, we have released four episodes — Education about ADHD, Anxiety (parts 1 and 2) and Depression. Watch our trailer below for a fuller description of what the project entails!
Taarika Foundation Website Redesign
— With the Taarika Foundation
Surprise! The Taarika Foundation website went through a complete redesign by youth ambassador Malavika Eby this fall, and our brand-new site was launched on Christmas Day 2021! We've got a new look, easy-to-navigate content and more resources, specially optimized to guide your mental health journey and answer your questions at every bump and curve better than ever before.
Content Creation
Recently Published Blogs, Articles & Podcast Segments
“[T]o be able to experience what it means to be “fully human,” or “beyond just a body taking up space,” we must develop the habit of self-reflection and a genuine curiosity to get to know ourselves, if not for the purpose of growth, then at least in respect to the fact that we are each truly wonderful and deserve to be understood.”
My latest blog! A 15-minute read that translates the better-understood concept of self-reflection into a vehicle for self-understanding and a step toward the complete realization of one’s potential, mentally, creatively, socially and emotionally. The article gently introduces readers to concepts such as Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman’s Sailboat model of growth and provides various tangible methods for self-exploration.
Self-Compassion Article Series
In the “Self-Compassion” segment of the Taarika Foundation’s article series, youth ambassadors Malavika and Anya expand on the subtopics of how to:
Become our own best friends
Balance self-care with an ambitious workload
Develop meaningful passions
Unearth a zest for life through positive self-talk
“Navigating Biculturalism” Podcast Mini-Series
In this two-part mini-series on Biculturalism, two of Taarika’s Youth members, Malavika and Anya, discuss hyphenated identities, connecting with our cultural roots as first or second-generation immigrants, and the experience of self-describing and getting involved with multiple faces of our cultural backgrounds.
Talks, Panels & Webinars
July 2021: Talk on Self-Compassion—Indian Community Center
Oct. 2021: Preventing Bullying & Cyberbullying—Student & Expert Panel
— With Maitri and Vivensity
October 2021 is National Bullying Prevention Month. Join us! Vivensity and Maitri are co-hosting a much-needed discussion on preventing bullying & cyberbullying among teens in middle & high school.
Attend this online panel of experts & students to learn how you can raise awareness about bullying, and take action to stop it. This solutions-oriented approach will help teens, their families & educators start the school year with insight & confidence.
Recent Interviews
Nov. 2021 Interview—with EdCuration: Easy, Integrated, Interactive SEL Digital Platform for Secondary Students
College freshman and author, Malavika Eby, shares how the imSparked Social Emotional Learning Program by Vivensity changed the course of her education and her life. Her 2020 book, The Gift That Keeps on Giving, provides a personal and detailed framework for self-growth and wellness for students of all ages.
Feb. 2021 Interview—with the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion (CMSC), an international nonprofit
“I work in a highly academic and competitive high school, similar to many in Silicon Valley. Academic metrics such as the number of Advanced Placement classes a high school student is taking, grade point average, and standardized test scores are major sources of social comparison. For these students, scoring 90% is actually not good enough. One needs to score 95%. I have heard of students who score above the 90th percentile on their college entrance exam, and they keep studying until they get the perfect score. Of course, their view is that “good” scores are just average and that “average” is not enough.
Malavika’s story
Last summer, I was very fortunate to meet a student from a neighboring high school who discovered for herself a powerful way to help manage the ongoing intensity of her daily life.”