Sitting in his room, Mohan Awasthi (12) listens to music. A pencil in his hand, he stares down at a crisp, white sheet of paper, thinking of designs for his new line of clothes. As his hand begins to move, the dark grey color from his pencil is left on the paper. Looking down at his design, a feeling of accomplishment overwhelms him. 

Beginning in seventh grade, Mohan began to resell shoes at a more expensive price. While the financial aspect was interesting, Mohan’s paramount interest was independence. 

“I was fascinated by the fact that I could make so much money at such a young age. I wanted to earn my own money, instead of taking my mother’s credit card,” Mohan said. “In the last two years, I have transformed to be extremely independent, especially because I started handling my own money.”

After years of reselling clothes, in the winter of 2017, Mohan decided to enter the design world. He created his own clothing line, Heritage Threads, where he sells high-end streetwear. Mohan wanted to create a company that connects with the customers. 

“Heritage Threads came to me when I realized that I wanted to be able to represent my culture somehow. My parents have always made it a point to keep Hinduism and Indian culture involved in my life. I named it Heritage as an ode to our past, and to give a way for everyone to remember their culture,” Mohan said.

With the money from the years of sale and his new company, Mohan earned enough money to buy himself a new car last year. Mohan explained that he will always remember the day he bought his marina blue M3 BMW.

“I had been dreaming about it since I was 13 years old but I never thought I would be able to make money on my own. I actually followed through with it. The day I bought my car was one of my proudest moments,” Mohan said. 

After reaching the milestones of buying his car and creating a clothing line, Mohan elucidated that he has grown to be more self-sufficient. Michael Acheatel, Business & Entrepreneurship teacher, noted Mohan’s growth in these past four years. 

“When I first met Mohan, he couldn’t pay attention for longer than five minutes. Now, I think he really values his education and what it provides him. He has matured a lot, both as a student as well as just a young adult,” Acheatel said. “He thinks really deeply about his passions about others. He goes above and beyond for the things that he cares about.”

Friend Zoey Rosa (12) described Mohan’s passion and kindness as important characteristics of his personality.

“[Mohan is] extremely kind and always tries to check in on his friends, constantly putting other people first. He always asks what they’re doing and how they’re doing,” Zoey said. 

Ronit Gagneja (12), another friend of Mohan’s, finds inspiration in Mohan’s tenacity.

“He’s my best friend and one of the best people I know. He’s always willing to help out with anything. He’s super outgoing, he’s dedicated to his passions, and overall just an amazing guy,” Ronit said.

While one of his passions is clothing, Mohan also has an interest in photography and music. He finds that the arts help him express himself. 

“[Photography] can show people the world directly through my eyes. That’s the biggest thing with photography specifically. I also love music and the way it makes me feel. I feel naked without it and, though I don’t play instruments or sing, it is definitely one of my passions,” Mohan said.

Mohan’s interest in photography has increased greatly ever since he took it up again in his freshman year. He has been using photography to record the memorable moments in these years of high school. 

“I wanted to be able to document everything I was living through because I have been loving my life,” Mohan said. “In high school, I suddenly had so many new friends and we were hanging out quite often, traveling all over with each other. It was so beautiful that I could capture these moments with photography. I hope that I can continue to capture these types of moments in the future as well.”