Graduating seniors will say goodbye to Robbinsville High School this month, and communitynews.org is once again featuring profiles of the Top 10 Exceptional Ravens.
With the help of Robbinsville High School staff, the Advance sent questionnaires to each of the 10 students. They were asked about their future plans, experiences at RHS, people who influenced them and their favorite high school memories.
Graduation is set for Friday, June 17 at 6 p.m. on the Robbinsville High School Football field. The rain date is Saturday, June 18 at 9am on the football field.
Ritika Bhatnagar
College and major: Princeton University, Computer Science with a certificate in Quantitative and Computational Biology
Career plans: Research in biomedical computing.
Planned college activities: Ringle, Club Badminton, Cheese and Bad Movies, Red Cross.
Clubs/sports teams at RHS: Math Honor Society, Science Olympiad, ONE Project, Red Cross.
Who is a person that inspires you? My older sister inspires me. She is brutally honest (in a good way, most of the time) and always encourages me to work hard to achieve my goals.
Favorite inspirational quote: “Failure isn’t the opposite of success, it’s a part of success.”
Favorite high school memory? One of my favorite memories was running to Spice Road to grab dolmas, crispy cauliflower and hummus sticks right before the flight home from Disney.
Ava Daniels
College and major: University of California Berkeley, Materials Science and Engineering
Career plans: Biomaterials Engineer
Planned college activities: Society of Women Engineers, Chinese Students Association, Berkeley Art Studio, Intramural Soccer.
Clubs/sports teams at RHS: FIRST Robotics, Cross Country/Track and Field, Gender Equality Club, Multicultural Club, National Honor Society.
Who is a person that inspires you? My closest friends have inspired me to be ambitious, hardworking, and resilient. Whether it was in the techlab, on the track, or in the classroom, I was always lucky to have people who would encourage and support me. I really wouldn’t be here today without them.
Favorite inspirational quote: “Begin… the rest is easy” –a fortune cookie
Favorite high school memory? Our robotics team winning the Mid-Atlantic District Championship, but that is just one highlight from our long, successful 2022 season. Despite the 2020 and 2021 competitions being canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions, our senior class came back strong as we returned to in-person events; we earned a total of seven awards throughout this season, one of which was at the World Championship level. Seeing our hard work and dedication pay off was very satisfying, but I also had so much fun meeting and working with all of the other amazing teams we met throughout this year.
Fathima Hasna Syed
College and major: Rutgers University, Pharmacy
Career plans: Clinical pharmacist
Planned college activities: The Environmental Awareness program and the Bioethics society.
Clubs/sports teams at RHS: ONE Project, Red Cross, March of Dimes Youth Council, National Honors Society, World Language Honors Society, Science National Honors Society
Who is a person that inspires you? My mom. She’s always working hard and making sure my sister and I have every opportunity to succeed and have fun.
Favorite inspirational quote: Even strength must bow to wisdom sometimes.” –Annabeth Chase, “The Lightning Thief”
Favorite high school memory? Coming back to school and seeing all my friends after quarantine.
Raaha Kumaresan
College and major: Rowan University and Cooper Medical School, Biomedical Engineering (7-year BS/MD program)
Career plans: Medicine
Planned college activities: American Medical Women’s Association, EMS, Biomedical Engineering Society, and Tennis Club.
Clubs/sports teams at RHS: Red Cross (President), Technology Student Association (President), Girls Who Code (vice president), National Honor Society, World Language Honor Society.
Who is a person that inspires you? Though it might seem cliche, my parents are my biggest inspiration. Their support and affection have shaped who I am today, and they are my role models when it comes to my work ethic and having a positive mind set.
Favorite inspirational quote: “Opportunity does not knock, it presents itself when you beat down the door.” –Kyle Chandler.
Favorite high school memory? It’s impossible for me to choose one moment because all four years of high school have been amazing. I’m so grateful to have learned so much and met incredible people. I cherish every moment, from my adventures as a TA for Ms. Sbarro’s Research class to watching movies with my friends, and I’ll never forget them.
Joshua Leeds
College and major: Boston University, Data Science
Career plans: Quantitative Analysis
Planned college activities: Sports Analytics Club, BU Spark
Clubs/sports teams at RHS: Swim Team, Model UN, National Honor Society, World Language Honor Society, Spanish Club.
Who is a person that inspires you? My mom. She inspires me to work hard despite failure and shows me that being outgoing can always help me succeed.
Favorite inspirational quote: “Just remember, it all started with a mouse.” –Walt Disney
Favorite high school memory? My senior night for the swim team. After four years of hard work and two years as a team captain, I was able to look back on all of the best moments from my time on the team.
Abhi Nadendla
College and major: University of Pittsburgh Honors College, Molecular Biology
Career plans: Medicine
Planned college activities: Club Tennis, Red Cross, South Asian Student Alliance, Breakthrough.
Clubs/sports teams at RHS: Tennis, FMLA, Robotics, Multicultural Club, Gender Equality Club, Red Cross Club, National Honor Society, Math Honor Society, Science National Honor Society, World Language Honor Society
Who is a person that inspires you? My parents, because they support me in my endeavors and help me achieve my goals.
Favorite inspirational quote: “People who wonder whether the glass is half empty or half full miss the point. The glass is refillable.” –Simon Sinek
Favorite high school memory? PR’ing while getting Dole Whip in Vans at Disney.
Pravallika Palwai
College and major: Georgetown University, Healthcare Management and Policy
Career plans: Healthcare Professional (Medicine).
Planned college activities: GERMS, The Corp, Pre-Medical Society, GUSHME, Project Sunshine.
Clubs/sports teams at RHS: Marching Band, FIRST Robotics (Marketing Team), Science Olympiad, Future Medical Leaders of America, National Honor Society, Science National Honor Society, World Language Honor Society.
Who is a person that inspires you? My parents because they have always supported me in my endeavors. Specifically, my dad is my role model as he came from a small village and successfully graduated from college and landed a job in the United States. Both of them inspire me to be the best person possible.
Favorite inspirational quote: “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning” –Albert Einstein
Favorite high school memory? Overnight school trips. Winning entrepreneurship at our last Worlds competition in Houston, Texas, and running from ride to ride to lunch/dinner reservation at Disney with my friends.
Swetha Ramachandran
College and major: Georgetown University, Economics
Career plans: Intellectual Property Lawyer
Planned college activities: The Corp, Club Tennis, Pre-Law Society, Moot Court Team, DC Reads.
Clubs/sports teams at RHS: Tennis, FIRST Robotics (Marketing Team), UNICEF, Debate Club, Mock Trial Club, National Honor Society, Math Honor Society, World Language Honor Society
Who is a person that inspires you? My parents. They offer unconditional support and always encourage me to have an optimistic mind set and work my hardest to succeed.
Favorite inspirational quote: “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorns have roses.” –Alphonse Karr
Favorite high school memory? Traveling with my robotics team to Detroit and Houston during my freshman and senior years for the Worlds competition and the much-awaited senior trip to Disney. I especially remember sprinting to get to the front of the line for Rise of the Resistance, a popular ride with a notoriously long wait time. Lucky for us, we only had to wait 15 minutes
Petras Winkler
College and major: Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences Honors Program, Biochemistry and Statistics
Career plans: Research in the Biomedical Sciences.
Planned college activities: Volunteering at Homefront, Intramural Volleyball, and Lab Assistant.
Clubs/sports teams at RHS: Hackathon Club, Math Honors Society, National Honors Society, Robotics.
Who is a person that inspires you? Chris Marchetti from Homefront. He consistently gives everything he has, and his genuine passion for the program inspires me to do the same.
Favorite inspirational quote: “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” –Albert Einstein
Favorite high school memory? Growing alum crystals in Mrs. Wiedman’s room after AP tests.
Lixing Wu
College and major: Johns Hopkins University, Computer Science and Public Health
Career plans: Healthcare Software Engineer
Planned college activities: Inter-Asian Council, Zinda, Kranti, Korean Pop Motion.
Clubs/sports teams at RHS: Robotics, Multicultural Club, UNICEF, Debate Club, Gender Equality Club.
Who is a person that inspires you? All of my friends inspire me, so it’s hard to name just a single person. When I think of how passionate, optimistic, and motivated they are about achieving their goals, it makes me want to be the same way.
Favorite inspirational quote: “Live, Laugh, Love” –Sume Sabbani
Favorite high school memory? The night of the Mr. RHS competition is probably my favorite high school memory. The pure adrenaline of being on stage and having people you’ve grown up with cheering for you is incomparable.
Abhi Nadendla,
Joshua Leeds,
Pravallika Palwai,
Swetha Ramachandran,
