With light filtering through the car windows, Dhruv Saoji (12) expertly maneuvers through traffic, not taking his eyes off the road as he continues his energetic conversation with a close friend. Brilliant rays bouncing off his sunglasses, he speaks avidly about the past day, reflecting on the experience of dissecting a rat at school and the joy of joking around with friends at the park in the afternoon. Events such as these, which might seem frivolous to others, mean the world to Dhruv, who appreciates every moment no matter how small.

“At the end of the day, you want to enjoy every moment and not take anything for granted,” Dhruv said. “Don’t be scared of the moment. Everything I do is simply because I enjoy doing it, whether it’s the joy that comes with repping out an exercise while lifting [or] the exhilaration that comes with playing in an intense tennis match. I love being active and seizing the moment.”

Dhruv first started working out at the end of sophomore year, aiming to challenge himself in new ways. Over time he improved his physique, consistently lifting and improving his maximum bench press weight from 80 pounds to 180 pounds in a year and a half. Building off his own experience, Dhruv has helped his friends plan their own fitness regimens and worked them through the proper techniques for more difficult exercises.

“Lifting at 5 a.m on Friday mornings and discussing exercises and diets, I’ve learned so much from him that’s helped me progress and it’s great to see him have the same impact on others,” Sujith Pakala (12), one of Dhruv’s closest friends and gym partners, said. “What’s more impressive than his muscles and abs is his dedication to lift even in season and his openness to trying new exercises and making corrections to his form.”

As a result of his dedication to working out, Dhruv made strides in strength and endurance that he utilized as captain of the varsity boys tennis team, leading them to the second round of Central Coast Section (CCS) playoffs. Dhruv displayed his mental toughness while competing alongside co-captain Shrey Khater (12) during the team’s final doubles match against Menlo.

“[Our opponents] were miles better than us,” Dhruv said. “Throughout the match, we kept fighting and ended up playing the best match of our lives. We pushed it to a tiebreaker, and [although we] still ended up losing, I was really proud that we played so well instead of giving up because the odds were against us.”

Dhruv’s intensity while working out and playing tennis shines through in his interactions with the people around him. Dhruv’s friends observe that he always approaches problems without fear and addresses them with sound logic.

“Dhruv’s really confident,” longtime friend Kaden Kapadia (12) said. “You can always tell he knows what he’s talking about. There’s never a moment where he loses faith in his own argument or point since he always has proper reasoning and stats to back up whatever he is saying.”

Dhruv’s unwavering disposition also influences his exploration of medical nuances. As vice president of Medical Club, he helps organize speaker events and dissections that enable fellow students to delve into the various aspects of the medical world.

Dhruv believes that in medicine, no two problems are the same, and he always pursues opportunities to innovate and affect change. As such, he investigates medical phenomena on his own through independent research projects and internships. Through an internship at Rejuvenation Technologies, Dhruv demonstrated his initiative by opting to work on projects involving optimal injection methods and auditory reactions in mice.

“The biggest takeaway for me is that I had to learn a lot of things on the spot,” Dhruv said. “I had to be open to being spontaneous. The most applicable lessons are what you learn on the job and what you gain from thinking critically. You also have to be bold. The reason I was able to do cool projects is because I was solution-oriented instead of doing the bare minimum.”

By thinking innovatively and sharing his ideas openly, Dhruv constantly seeks opportunities to step outside his comfort zone. Even while doing school work, Dhruv searches for ways in which he can have fun, attempting unique problems, often beyond the scope of the class being taught. By building off his previous insights, he navigates tough questions with well thought out rationale.

“For Dhruv, it was never about getting an A on a test,” upper school economics teacher Sam Lepler said. “It was always about ‘How do I use [game theory] outside of class?’ in ways as myriad as solving forestry to figuring out optimal plays in football.”

While Dhruv never stops reaching for new heights, he always appreciates the journey to reach those goals.

“I live by smiles per gallon,” Dhruv said. “If you think about life in terms of miles per gallon, you’re thinking about how you can maximize being efficient … you’ll be on cruise control the whole time. But by looking at the smiles per gallon, you’ll have so much fun on the road trip there. You’ll enjoy the journey to the fullest.”