Friends and teachers speak enthusiastically about senior Rahul Bhethanabotla in his wholly different capacities: researcher, performer, musician, or Honor Council member. But in all the separate spheres, there is a single characteristic that comes up again and again: a pervasive maturity of thought unusual for a 17-year-old.

On one level, this maturity can be construed somewhat literally. Rahul is referred to as the “dad” of his advisory because of the fatherly way he organizes the group.

“[Rahul] has a kind of old soul quality and maturity that you don’t often see in high-school kids,” Rahul’s advisor Diane Main said. “He kinda rolled into [the dad role], between literally telling dad-joke style jokes sometimes and always kind of shepherding the flock a little bit—if not literally and physically, metaphorically. Often [Rahul will] say ‘we haven’t talked about such-and such’ or ‘hey we just had this thing, what do you think about [it]?'”

In another sense, Rahul has led his extracurricular groups with sensibility. Vocal Music Teacher Susan Nace has known Rahul as a singer for all four years of high school through various singing groups, including Guys’ Gig, the school’s male a capella group. Rahul has been a member since freshman year and is serving as its leader, the “Guy,” this year.

“[He’s led Guys’ Gig] with a lot of care. A lot of wisdom,” Nace said. “He’s got a wonderful sense of humor, which is part of that whole Gig aesthetic, for the lack of a better word. There’s humor there, there’s the acceptance of anybody who wants to sing. He’s a strong leader without being an autocratic leader. He’s very much about process and inclusion, and very thoughtful.”

Rahul has thought deeply about life and what he wishes to gain from it. He points to a specific incident in Sophomore year that began his thinking: Rahul was conducting a research project with bacteria and came back from a school break to find all of his petri dishes contaminated with fungus.

“I can say pretty happily that a lot of my high school career has been a series of failures or rejections,” he said. “I think it was Open Lab that really made me realize that you kinda have to keep on doing, because when people tell you no, you just have to find a new way to do things. At the end of the day, the only person you’re really responsible for is yourself, and you have to be your own agent for these kinds of things. The series of failures I’ve had in research and performing arts—all those failures and all those rejections have definitely made me a more persevering person.”

But Rahul’s thoughtful personality never comes across as stilted. Rahul is well-known for his unique sense of humor.

“It’s based on a little bit of self-deprecation, yet it’s never harmful or hurtful. It’s always to build other people up, and to make them laugh and feel comfortable,” Nace said.

Rahul’s humor is an extension of his skill in the performing arts. But in addition to acting and singing, Rahul has enjoyed exploring another medium of entertainment.

“As a performer, I’ve spent a lot of my life trying to sing beautifully, or act well, so people laugh or they cry when they need to,” Rahul said. “I discovered game design and programming as another medium for me to make people happy, and to make myself happy really—most of the games I make [are] simple games, pretty much just clones of very popular games. Even though they might be more buggy than the real version, I get the enjoyment of knowing ‘wow, I just made this, and it’s fun.’ I can play it on my way somewhere and then I’ll just delete the app, and I’ll make a new game.”

This one principle—a thoughtfulness and concern with others—is a unifying thread throughout all of Rahul’s pursuits.

“When you enjoy things, you should try to get other people to enjoy them as well. So if you’re singing, you need to get someone else to sing with you, and if you’re writing a program for yourself, maybe write something for someone else, or help someone out with it,” Rahul said.

But in addition to his interest in the well-being of others, Rahul also believes in the absolute importance of self-motivation.

“I think that, anything you do—anything, no matter whether it’s performing arts, singing, dancing, doing math problems—you have to do it, at some level, for yourself,” Rahul said. “Because if you don’t do things for yourself, what are you except for a machine, or a puppet for someone else to do things? You have to take ownership of your own activities and your own work.”