“Runners, take your marks.” Inhale. Exhale. Eyes closed, nervous smile. “Set.” Heart pounding, muscles ready. Eyes locked on the lane. “Go.” Adrenaline rushes. Left arm swings, right leg pushes. The world narrows to this one race, this one win. As his spikes pound on the track, senior Rushil Jaiswal focuses on the single technique that he has honed through hours and hours of practice. With every ounce of strength, he pumps his arms and legs to gain and maintain a lead.

During the track unit in his 5th grade Physical Education class, Rushil and his classmates practiced sprinting and broad jumping under the teacher’s instruction. His talent stood out to his teacher, who encouraged him to join the track team. Now, Rushil has been running for nearly eight years.

“I’ve been loving the sport, loving the team,” Rushil said. “I love the fact that it’s you who’s going at it. You’re not relying on other people, so however well you do is on you. Once I get out on that track and take off, the adrenaline and the joy I get from just being out there is like no other.” 

However, Rushil’s commitment to such a rigorous sport led him to sustain numerous injuries to his back, shoulders and knees, which have hindered his training drastically. During the healing process, he struggled to maintain a consistent recovery routine. 

Through the Incubator program, headed by business and entrepreneurship teacher Michael Acheatel, Rushil worked with seniors Sahil Varma and Sara Glusman to develop Wrapit, a product that makes recovery more convenient. Although their first prototype was merely a piece of cloth stapled with an ice pack, they saw the product’s potential as a resource to benefit all athletes.

“I dealt with a lot of shin splints, and I realized that I was skipping my recovery because I was pushing things off due to the time and effort it took,” Rushil said. “I created this product that lets me put on a compression sleeve and slip in an ice pack in it. Now I have that compression sleeve while I run track, and it helps me with blood flow.”

Rushil spearheaded Wrapit’s website development, designing an elegant platform that reflects Wrapit’s purpose and showcases its products. Although the team faced pitfalls, whether it be rejection or struggles with product development, they worked together to navigate those challenges and turned setbacks into successes. Eventually, the team made it to pitch competitions, such as Startup World Cup’s high school regional competition, where they competed for money to fund their growing business.

“The nervousness right before the pitch is crazy,” Rushil said. “When you’re out there, when you’re pitching, seeing all the judges smile and people nodding their heads and resonating with you is really powerful.”

Aside from working tirelessly on the technical side of Wrapit, Rushil and his teammates strive to emphasize the company’s brand and vision. He aims to present himself to investors as a dynamic individual leading a startup that has a true purpose — not just a one-dimensional impersonal business. He hopes to showcase Wrapit’s unique character, dedicated founders and authentic inspiration behind it.

“A lot of times, investors are investing in the entrepreneur, and not the business,” Rushil said. “When they can find that real entrepreneur, that’s who they’re trying to go for. I want to show myself as that one person whom they feel confident investing in for this pitch competition.”

When Rushil first joined the Incubator program, Acheatel noticed the thoughtfulness he put into all his assignments. Over time, Acheatel has come to admire not only Rushil’s consistent dedication to Wrapit, but also the enthusiasm behind his work.

“It’s not like he’s showing up for 85 minutes and then going about his day,” Acheatel said. “He’s thinking about it day in and day out, in class, out of class, constantly seeking to improve. That eagerness, that tenacity, is as if he has this sense of urgency. He’s self-motivated and self-inspired.”

Rushil’s drive to always go the extra mile is not only evident in Wrapit but also in the effort he puts into all the activities he juggles, whether it be track, student council or dance. Close friend senior Naiya Daswani admires his tenacity when it comes to achieving his goals.

“He’s very ambitious,” Naiya said. “He’ll put his mind to something and then do everything he can to reach that goal. I can see that through the way he’s been on student council since ninth grade and the way he started Wrapit. He’s always followed his dreams and worked his hardest to meet those goals.”

Rushil strives to be as approachable and available as possible to anyone who needs his advice, especially with close friends. Senior Rayan Arya can attest to this, and he appreciates Rushil’s ability to uplift his friends.

“He’s a really supportive person, and you can tell that he genuinely cares about his close friendships,” Rayan said. “I trust him a lot with everything. I’ll tell him anything that’s going on, and he’s always someone who I know is going to be there for me if I need it. He’s someone who you can have a continuous conversation with.”

Rushil’s wholeheartedness and compassion are not just external. Within his own life, he strives to stay true to his own desires and goals. Instead of going through the motions of activities that he does not enjoy, he pursues only those that challenge him and give him gratification. He truly relishes the process of high school, taking the time to discover his true interests and decide how he wants to lead his life in the future.

“In everything I do, I find purpose and joy,” Rushil said. “In track, I love putting myself out there through all the nervousness and just being in the moment of that race. I love the journey through all the practices. I also grow through all the challenges I have in Incubator. It’s really tough, but that’s how you grow as a person.”

Rushil has fought an uphill battle every step of the way in both track, where he deals with injuries and Wrapit, a practically full-time job complete with a myriad of challenges. However, by working through those trials and tribulations on his own, Rushil takes pride in paving a path for himself to reach success.

“I want to be known as someone that’s able to do my own thing, so goal-determined that I don’t let the failures stop me: someone who can take the situation and turn around to look at it from an optimistic view,” Rushil said. “I’ll just keep getting back up again and again and again.”