Teen Actress Finds Freedom to Pursue Her Passion Through TTU K-12

By Leslie Cranford, Media Relations Coordinator

September 14, 2018

Last summer we brought you the story of Mohana Krishnan, a TTU K-12 student and actress who appears on Nickelodeon's teen series, “I Am Frankie.” While finishing shooting season two, Mohana took time to send us some video and chat a little about her day-to-day life on the set, balancing career and school.

“On a regular day on the set, they can call us in any time they want, and they can keep us here for 10 hours, to work and to do school,” she said. “I'm supposed to get a minimum of three hours of school done every day, for five days. Some days I film six scenes, some days I film NO scenes. I'll get more schoolwork done the days I don't film, but the days I do film, I might only get 30 minutes of school.”

Mohana said some days she goes to hair and makeup first, which takes roughly an hour, then may go film for an hour, or, she does school first. “It really depends, that's why it's all over the place.

Mohana's father, Manjeri Krishnan, explained that because of strict criteria for an online school, they chose TTU K-12 for Mohana.

“The program had to be 100 percent flexible; completely self-paced,” Manjeri said. “When she films, her schedule is completely unpredictable, so we could not participate in any fixed-time classes.”

The second criterion, he said, is that the program had to be recognized by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). Since Mohana attends school in Texas, they wanted a program where they could transfer the course credits back to her traditional school.

“Mohana films for a few months out of the year, so she goes in and out of her regular school; so being able to transfer credits is essential.”

The last benchmark, he said, is that the program had to be rigorous, because they did not want to compromise on rigor.

“The TTU K-12 program is very competitive, comparing it to other online programs that are available,” Manjeri said. “Plus it has that advantage of being a completely flexible, self-paced program. When I was looking for a suitable online school program for our daughter, not many programs exist that offer a fully flexible schedule. TTU K-12 is one of the very few I found that offers that.”

Because Mohana is a minor, her mother, Saipriya Krishnan, accompanies her during the months-long trips to Nickelodeon studios in Miami. Fortunately, being a business analyst, she can do her work remotely as well.

“I log in every day from the studio and work about 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.,” said Saipriya. “Some days Mohana's schedule starts early and ends late. After I'm finished working, if I have free time, I socialize with the other moms; I have meals with them, and I also get to watch Mohana filming on the set, from the dressing room television. On days she films at an outdoor location, I either take the day off to be with her or I continue working on location.”

Manjeri would recommend TTU K-12 to other parents if they have a child who needs time freedom, specifically mentioning the TTU K-12 staff and course content.

“Whenever I had any questions regarding the program, or regarding my student in particular, the staff has been extremely helpful,” he said. “Every student is assigned a counselor, and I always can go to the counselor with concerns about Mohana. As far as the course content, I'd say it's very well-designed and user-friendly, so I have not had any problems with the course content or accessing the status and scores online.”

Mohana reiterated the convenience of having a curriculum that is flexible with her acting schedule.

“I really need to be able to do school whenever I can, instead of having to go to classes at a school at a certain time,” she said. “TTU K-12 has really helped me to pursue my dreams of acting. My experience has been pretty good; it allows me to get all my work done, and since it's self-paced, it helps me pursue my dream of acting. It's been very helpful and it's a great school.”

TTU K-12's complete portability, along with the capability for students to start anytime from anywhere, make it the preferred curriculum for students like Mohana and other students in similar circumstances for which a traditional school setting is not an option. Read other TTU K-12 student success stories.

Watch as Mohana takes us backstage on the set of “I Am Frankie.”

Watch more videos about TTU K-12 and our students on our YouTube channel.