Team
Mahalakshmi Jonnalagadda
Mahalakshmi Jonnalagadda is a High School Junior (XI Grade in India), who is equally passionate about art, science and the environment. Her passion for art started when she was in her elementary school, drawing shapes and turning them into different faces. As she developed her art and started understanding the science behind it, her interest in Science took flight. She believes Art and Science are natural siblings, which help us understand and express the world around better. She strongly feels studying science and being creative gives her opportunities to help improve the world we live in. Science, she says, should be used to preserve and improve the environment and not for its destruction. She comes up with various programs to raise awareness among young kids on being responsible citizens of this planet.
She volunteered for many summers in a Young Leaders Program (Vedika - the Speaking Society, which is a platform for self improvement and leadership through improved communication skills). She joined a government run girls high school for her sophomore year (X Grade) to spend more time with girls from under privileged sections of the community. She spent many sessions with them raising awareness about the world of opportunities awaiting them, leading them in various green activities and helping them improve their communication skills.
She looks forward to doing a Ph. D. in Science to gain a thorough understanding of scientific processes and become a researcher to create efficient, eco-friendly technology that adds value to human life.
Sudisha is a sophomore and attends MVHS Cupertino and finds Art as her relationship with the outside world. Her interest in Art grew during elementary school when she participated in PTA organized Reflections Contest and also won District Level Council Award. She feels Art connects us to our roots and is also future of cultural, social and technological evolution. In her freshman years she joined a Humanity course to learn diverse aspect of Art in Human Life and World Culture. At a summer residential Architecture and Design program at UCLA she learnt to merge Art with Technology and create design and algorithms of Architecture by drawing physical and geometric models in virtual and physical settings using computer software.
Currently she holds position with City of Cupertino as Teen Commissioner and is engaged passionately in various community development programs like Safe Routes to School, Promoting Asian- American History, Climate Corp Action Group, and High School Internship program for students.
Sudisha
Nikita
Nikita is a 4th grade student at Challenger School. She is an avid artist who likes to sketch and create origami crafts in her free time. She has been learning how to read, write, and converse in Hindi for the past 3 years. Nikita enjoys showing off her flexibility, such as the back bend pose she learned through her yoga class she has attended since she was 6 years old. Lately, Nikita has started experimenting with developing video games using Scratch and Terrapin Logo. She has also picked up the skill of solving a 3x3 Rubik’s cube, and she is on a mission to break her brother’s 14 second solve time record. In her spa time, Nikita loves to read comics and adventure books, swing on monkey bars, ice skate, and play basketball. Every evening, Nikita spends quality time with her brother watching TV shows.
Sahiti Rayaprolu is a passionate freshman at Evergreen Valley High school who enjoys collaborating with others and meeting new people. She loves to sing and is learning both Indian classical music and dance. Sahiti has been doing speech and debate competitively for a couple years, in addition to working as a student judge for elementary speech and debate students. She codes in Java and Python, and aims to use this interest to make a difference in the future. She is also fond of digital art and graphic design, and likes to make drawings, design posters, and create cards for special occasions. In her leisure time, Sahiti watches sitcoms, listens to music, puts off all her work, and either reads a new book or re-reads her favorite series, “Throne of Glass”.