Sukrit Ganesh (12) is known around campus as Harker’s resident car, politics and astrophysics enthusiast. With his characteristic accent and a purposeful gait, Sukrit’s presence never goes unnoticed.

Like a true technology aficionado, Sukrit finds joy in building snap circuits and playing video games. Engineering for him is a way to take a problem in society and create a way to solve it. After stumbling across Doug DeMuro, a car YouTuber who makes videos about all things automobile related, Sukrit’s love for everything cars and engineering only grew.

“I started to go to CarandDriver.com and read more about it,” Sukrit said. “And soon, I realized that cars and engineering go together. Since I am a pretty big fan of engineering, those two naturally melted together. I just started getting more and more involved in the subject.”

He continued to read and absorb information online and by watching YouTube, and his habit of delving deeply into topics is reflected in both his knowledge and application.

“He just has a passion for learning,” his friend Erin Liu (12) said. “He talked to me last summer about building his own go-kart, and he was explaining all the components. Even though I didn’t understand a lot of it, you can just tell that he’s explored so much by himself that he can delve deeply into any area. He’s just intrigued by almost everything.”

Beyond cars, Sukrit enjoys spending time with his family through board games. Game nights with his family, friends and neighbors happen every two weeks during the school year, but over the summer, Sukrit played every day.

“I play board games with my family really often––Board Game Nights,” Sukrit said. “We call over a couple of my cousins, maybe a couple of my brother’s friends who live nearby, and we play all sorts of board games that involve skill. It can’t be Chutes and Ladders; it’s got to involve skill––it has to be something like Blokus or Monopoly.”

Sukrit’s love for games that involve ingenuity comes from his deep interest in engineering.

“My favorite [board game] has got to be Monopoly. It’s related to real estate development and business, and I’m pretty interested in business. Monopoly just has a lot of skill involved and you have to somehow engineer your way to become the winner. It all just ties in,” Sukrit said.

Aside from board games and technology, Sukrit enjoys playing an occasional round of baseball and staying active.

“Riding my bicycle or playing baseball are some of my favorite past times,” he said. “I sometimes get together with the kids in my neighborhood just for a quick game of baseball or bike racing.”

Sukrit’s lab partner in his AP Physics C class, Akshay Ravoor (12), comments on his demonstrated creativity in the classroom.

“He brings personality to the class. He loves experimenting in the lab, whereas other people are more focused on getting the lab report done, so he always comes up with innovative solutions,” Akshay said.

His robotics teammate David Melisso (12) notes how Sukrit’s differentiated way of doing things goes beyond the academic environment.

“Sukrit doesn’t do things the way that they have to be done, he does things the way he believes is the best way to do things. He does things in a new and interesting way, he breaks new grounds, and if he doesn’t believe that it’s being done the best way possible, he’ll try doing it a different way,” David said.

His quest for knowledge extends into his time beyond his academic life or his extracurricular life on campus.

“Frankly, if I’m not doing anything, and I’m bored, it just doesn’t work for me,” Sukrit said. “I always have to be doing something with a purpose, whether it’s exercising, eating or doing math problems. I always want to lead an active life. Honestly, doing board games or spending time with my family is a good way to stay busy while simultaneously relaxing.”

Sukrit hopes to bring his passion of creative approaches to pursue a major in computer science, and later, he hopes to have the possibility of a career in the automotive industry.