During office hours or lunch, Rohan Sonecha (12) can be seen meandering around campus with a cohort of friends, his tall frame peaking above everyone.  He tells a joke and the whole group erupts into laughter.

Rohan recalls his middle school days where he would play ping pong every passing period before advisory.  That equates to two sessions per week, every week.  His friend Ishaan Chandra (12) recalls living these experiences with him.

“There was a ping pong table right outside [the music room], and we had advisory right after that.  We’d play ping pong for the entire passing period and then we would sprint across campus to Mrs. Morgensen’s room and try to get there right before the bell,” Ishaan said.

While this seemingly arbitrary anecdote may just seem like general immature middle school antics, it perfectly encapsulates Rohan’s fun-loving attitude and how he would try to squeeze as much enjoyment out of the day.  Although this tradition has not carried over into high school, Rohan’s friends still appreciate his outgoing personality and his overall joyful demeanor.

“It’s never something where we have to try to have to hang out; it’s very natural, it’s very easy,” Ishaan said.

Adhya Hoskote (12), another friend who has known Rohan since middle school, mirrors Ishaan’s thoughts.

“Usual interaction: he’s usually making some sort of joke, always laughing. There’s never a dull moment with Rohan.  He really brightens the mood,” Adhya said. 

In addition to his delegation as a perpetually cheerful presence on campus, Rohan also leads several initiatives on and off-campus.  Over his years of participating in water polo, boy scouts and robotics, Rohan has refined the craft of effective leadership.

“I try to bring a lot of energy whenever I’m leading a group. A lot of times you’ll see me jumping around or telling a lot of jokes.  I like to make people feel comfortable in the environment that they’re working in so they can focus on just getting work done,” Rohan said. 

In addition to echoing the same thoughts as his friends, his math teacher Bradley Stoll commented on how over the two years he has taught him, he has seen Rohan mature but still “brought laughter to the class every day.”

“My first impression of him was that he likes to have fun, doesn’t take too many things seriously, just a free spirit,” he said.  “If someone was to be voted class clown, it would be him.  But also, [he was] very thoughtful of other people.”

Rohan’s thoughtfulness can be seen through his role in robotics. As the hardware lead on the robotics team, Rohan leads the other members in building and refining the design of the robot.

“I like the hands-on work. I’m definitely very interested in software but I want to be able to do the hands-on aspect of electronic or mechanical engineering and build things,” Rohan said.

Additionally, his ability to combine diametrically opposed traits allows him to maximize both productivity and enjoyment among his group.

“I like to make sure we’re being productive, but once we get a certain amount done then we’ll take a fun break and just to keep the energy high. When we’re working, we’re working hard and then when we’re having fun, we don’t worry about the work,” Rohan said.

One way Rohan has channeled these sentiments was for his Eagle Scouts project in which he created foam model representations of children’s stories to help kids better interact with what they are reading.

“I’ve become a lot more interested in bringing equity to education and a lot of times I think of how lucky we are to have everything that we have – and there’s not really anything any of us at Harker did to deserve everything that we have.  [My life goal] would be to spread that opportunity to other people,” Rohan said.  “If they had access to education they could be contributing so much to society and coming up with the next big solution.”

Whether he’s captaining the water polo team or helping disadvantaged students learn, Rohan simultaneously embodies the archetypes of the leader and the jester in a beautifully dichotomous personality.