Gripping the steering wheel, Ariav Misra (12) navigates the sharp bends of the racetrack with ease. Despite the screech of the tires and the roar of the engine, he maintains focus on the checkered flag a hundred meters from him. Crossing the finish line, a shout escapes from him. He turns to his father, his companion in crafting the vehicle that he had led to a first-place finish, and is met with a subtle wink of pride.

From a young age, Ariav was fascinated by racing, and peers knew him as the kid with the car posters in his room. He not only enjoyed the exhilaration of the drive but also the months of dedication that went into preparing the car for the race, which included taking parts of the car apart and altering them.

“For me, a car is not just a means of transportation,” Ariav said. “When you race the car, you really have to understand the ins and outs of the vehicle. Whatever modifications you make to it directly come out as an output on the track. There are so many things that I can tweak with my hands that ultimately translate to changing anything from the way the car handles corners to the sound it makes.”

Close friend Arjun Moogimane (12) reflects on how they both grew as people over the years. He notes how their shared passion for cars stayed constant throughout their years of attending school.

“I remember in third grade, we were both really into cars, and he always knew more and still knows more about cars than I do,” Arjun said. “Now, we’ve gotten closer and our interests have matured, but we still usually end up talking about cars a lot.”

Apart from racing, Ariav engages in amateur radio, a process that includes building a station and experimenting with and communicating through radios. While it is not a common hobby among people his age, he took it up during the COVID-19 pandemic to grow closer to his father.

“My dad was an amateur radio operator back in India when he was a kid,” Ariav said. “When I was growing up, he’d always told me stories about it, and I thought it was super interesting. When the COVID lockdown hit, since we were spending more time together, it seemed like the perfect thing for us to do.”

Through amateur radio, he has spoken to people in South America, Asia and even the International Space Station. He has also trained people in disaster relief coordination, one of the practical usages of radio, allowing for rapid deployment as a backup for emergencies. 

“One of my fondest memories with amateur radio was helping create a net, which is a club that meets on a certain frequency at a scheduled time,” Ariav said. “I was able to get those conversations started about how people could be better equipped to assist with disaster relief through that net.”

Ariav was also able to meet more people during the pandemic through their shared passion for radio, even if they were not necessarily face-to-face. He credits these experiences as the reason he was able to open up coming into high school.

“I got to interact with kids all the way up to adults from all across the world and people in my local community,” Ariav said. “It really helped me build my personal sense of confidence and self-identity because it helped me find a purpose through volunteering.”

Ariav’s volunteering through amateur radio encouraged him to pursue other community service opportunities. Through his leadership and out-of-the-box thinking, such as in his implementation of a novel summer recruitment program, he became the president of the Morgan Hills chapter of the Youth Action Council. Despite being tentative to join a volunteer group for the first time, he is grateful for being spontaneous in his decision.

“Don’t be scared of trying new things or grasping new opportunities. The most meaningful things in my life have come from situations where I’ve just felt, ‘Let’s just do it’,” Ariav said. “Because at the end of the day, most things you do in life aren’t going to be easy at the start or may never become easier.”

After working with Ariav on the Youth Action Council, adviser Les Taylor describes him as a role model with leadership qualities that surpass his age. She especially cites his outgoing personality as a key strength.

“His superpower is relationship-making,” Taylor said. “He makes people feel safe and heard, and he provokes cultures of caring. He doesn’t require a lot of recognition for what he does. He does it because his internal clock says, ‘This is my standard.’”

Continuing his dedication to community service, Ariav traveled to Nepal two years ago to better understand the needs of families living in slums and conduct workshops on mental health. He recalls his shock at the poverty he saw when he arrived.

“On the first day that they took me to the slums to get myself oriented, I remember almost starting to cry in the taxi cab on my way back because I was just so overwhelmed by the level of poverty that was there,” Ariav said. “When I started talking to people and realized the situation was a lot worse than what I had expected, that motivated me to do something about it.”

While in Nepal, Ariav researched how the government was helping those suffering from mental health conditions in the slums. His learnings led him to consider a future in medicine geared toward helping people improve their mental state.

“When you’re living in a state of poverty, the prevalence of mental health disorders is high, and a lot of that is going undiagnosed,” Ariav said. “I thought that was terrible, and that was the main thing that motivated me to want to do psychiatry.”

Mariana Ryder (12) has maintained a close friendship with Ariav as he has navigated through these experiences. For the last nine years, she has watched him grow as a person, whether on the occasional road trip or a daily carpool ride.

“He’s conscious and considerate of other people,” Mariana said. “He tries to make sure that everyone is included most of the time, and he goes out of his way to make sure that he is engaging with other people that he maybe doesn’t know as well. What’s unique about him is when he joins us, the atmosphere is elevated because he’s just such a funny person and genuinely outgoing.”