Armed with his binder, Ayan walked into our classroom with a warm and goofy smile. He was a sharp 8th grader who had an incredible imagination and a ton of interesting ideas.

However, Ayan struggled to get his thoughts on paper. He found it challenging to focus his ideas into organized stories and essays, and thus considered writing to be a nearly impossible task. At times he would write a few lines, put down his pencil, and just gaze at the window. On other days, he would just frustratingly stare at a blank sheet before getting started.

Since Ayan had such a positive attitude, he was able to turn things around. His breakthrough moment was when he chose to write about a nascent carmaker called Tesla. He believed that the company would be a future success. Skeptical, I disagreed.

"Prove it!" I challenged him. He stepped up to the plate.

Within seconds we came up with a thesis, organized his ideas into bullet points, and transformed his thoughts into an articulate argument. Passionate about his work, he read his essay aloud proudly, proclaiming that this Silicon Valley startup would be the number-one EV maker in the next decade. Needless to say, he was right.

Fast forward to today, Ayan recently graduated from the School of International Affairs at George Washington University. Prior to that, he has interned with congressmen and lawmakers in California and Washington D.C. He'll certainly be putting his writing skills to good use as he embarks on a career in government and public service.