The curious case of Oceanside High School students new book

Oceanside High School senior Ariella Rukhlin is taking her curiosity to new heights.

After launching a podcast last year, “Chit-Chatting and Questioning the World,” which incorporated her passion for science and curiosity about the world, the 17-year-old has self-published her first book, “A Curious Book on Curious Minds.” Last July, Rukhlin was inspired to write the book by her uncle, Dmitry Rukhlin, who she said is a huge role model for her.

“For as long as I can remember, she asked me questions, and I’ve always tried to answer her like an adult,” her uncle said.

“Even when she was 8 years old, I would give her serious answers to what at the time seemed like very simple questions. It caught me a little by surprise, because she was so young, that she wanted to do a podcast, but she said the curiosity that she had, and off my conversations with her, she wanted to do something where she explored her curiosity.”

Dmitry Rukhlin, 40, used to be in the military and has written two books: “Leaving Active Duty: Real-life Stories and Advice for Junior Military Officers” and “Why Do You Do That?: 101 Cat Poems.” Ariella asked him about the writing and publishing process.

“He’s always been there to tell me to remain curious about the world around me, and was a mentor throughout my childhood,” she said. “He was an author, and overall, he’s the most knowledgeable and creative person I know. He just has this attitude of wanting to learn more about the world.”

Her book explores inequality, and the disparities between those who have access to information and those who don’t. It also delves into the psychological aspects of curiosity, different types of curious people, the importance of curiosity in one’s professional life and overcoming procrastination.

While working on her podcast, Rukhlin found a need for equality in education when she realized how many young people lack access to mediums like podcasts.

“It paved the way for my curiosity, and thinking about people that live in other areas of the world that don’t have this access,” she said, “which made me want to write the book.”

During the past school year, Rukhlin took part in a book drive, donating books to the Book Fairies — a nonprofit based in Freeport that supplies under-resourced neighborhoods with high-interest books, in order to increase literacy rates — as a part of her effort to increase access to information.

“For anyone to take any sort of action and to have awareness is super important, because it’s an issue that doesn’t have enough attention paid towards it,” she said.

Like her podcast, her book has no target age group, and she said that everyone could understand the message she is writing about.

While her book addresses the inequality of access to information in general, she said she has also seen it on a local level as well. Rukhlin took part in the Bridges Program in middle school, in which students from Oceanside and Uniondale discuss current events, learn about different ideas and cultures, and address the growing racial, religious and ethnic divide on Long Island.

The program began in 2016, with seventh-graders from the two school districts.

“I’m stuck in my Oceanside High School bubble, so it was nice to be able to talk to them and to explore the community outside of mine,” she said, referring to Uniondale students.

“I think it speaks to the inequality of education, not just in geographic regions or worldwide, but within my community.”

Rukhlin has not decided on a career path, but her uncle said it would most likely be in a field where she can continue to use her curiosity.

“Whatever it involves, I think, ultimately, she’ll thrive somewhere that gives her some creative freedom in academia,” Dmitry said.

The proceeds from Rukhlin’s book are going to the Save the Children Foundation. She has given $400 to the organization so far from book proceeds, which helped fund a mobile library in Ethiopia through the Camel Library initiative. Her book was published on May 5, and through it and her podcast, she said she wants to inspire enrichment and try to make a difference.

“Hopefully, even if I get one person to just realize that the resources that they have access to are truly a privilege,” she said, “people should be utilizing everything they have access to, to research every facet of the world around them, because it enriches life and makes it so much more interesting.”

Rukhlin’s book is available on Amazon.