I’m Lakshya – an individual who loves life in all its colors and seasons. An optimist, believer, learner, traveler, compassionate leader, computer science enthusiast, and a national champion in speech and debate tournaments. I am currently a Junior at Dougherty Valley High School, as a student, there are many stressors we grow through – our stages of development dive into our education and we often get lost in the stress and hustle to become self-involved. Yet I have been fortunate to see parts and corners of the world that opened my eyes to the possibilities and many opportunities to contribute. I recognize through that, that I have a responsibility upon myself to leverage my gifts and empower others to create the biggest impact on my peers that I can.
In order to do this, I call upon my experience thus far – as speech captain of the Vancouver Debate Academy, i got recognized as the top 10 champions across the United States at the National Speech & Debate championship hosted by universities such as Harvard, Stanford, Seattle, leading to an invitation to the coveted tournament of champions for extemporaneous speaking. In the school year, 2019-20 at Gale Ranch Middle School I was recognized as a Social-Emotional Leader by school staff and administrators and worked with the school principal to inspire my entire student community to embrace Social Emotional Learning on campus. All throughout my middle school tenure 2017 – 2020, I had served as the School Site Council Member, this experience has enriched me with skills such as seeing the big picture at the school level – the challenges and opportunities, and understanding the needs of my student community.
Over the years, I’ve leveraged my gifts to coach and inspire children, adolescents, and youth to open up and express themselves – a skill that they will leverage in their lifetimes. I further my gratification by extending these learnings and empowering underprivileged kids in India, teaching them that their voice is their power and force that they can use with confidence to enrich their lives.
In addition, I make an impact daily on my peers in my school community in the capacity of Junior, and now Senior class treasurer – constantly creating experiences, devising new strategies to create a difference and impact on over 4000 peers within my high school, creating new opportunities for those who go unrecognized. A voice is every kid’s greatest tool, everyone has it, they just have to find a way to use it, and my goal is just that. To leverage my abilities and platform, to enrich what I find in others, and to give them confidence and opportunity to move ahead in life with confidence.
