Janam Chahal

“Even the simplest things can have the biggest impacts. We don’t need crazy solutions to make big results, but we just need determination to follow through with them. This has really driven me to explore all my interests to the fullest capacity and try to find unique ways to create those meaningful experiences for myself,” senior Pavith Khara said.

The sun beats down on the court as Pavith Khara lunges for another shot, her wrist throbbing and legs cramping. She misses as the ball skims past her racket, and the scoreboard confirms that she’s lost the semifinals. Exhausted and defeated by the score, Pavith feels a rush of pride instead. Every moment that she has pushed through pain and nerves has led up to this — the thrill of playing the game she loves, no matter the outcome.

“Tennis has made me super emotionally aware,” Pavith said. “Because of how much of a mental battle it brings on a day-to-day basis for me, I’m able to take my learnings and apply them to how I interact with how I view myself. I have this healthier balance where I’m not super obsessed with performance and feel like I’m at the best point of enjoying the sport.”

That balance wasn’t always easy to find. In sophomore year, Pavith struggled with the intense self-imposed pressure to perform. Every imperfect shot felt magnified, and practices often ended in frustration, even in tears. At one point, she stepped away from tennis, overwhelmed by expectations and the fear of underperforming. However, this became a turning point to recalibrate and shift her mindset to focus on improvement rather than perfection.

“Pushing myself to stick with it really helped me strengthen my affinity for tennis,” Pavith said. “I started to think of the sport more as an outlet for any stress I had; when I stepped on the court and had a clear mind, it was liberating. Because I’ve spent so much time looking intrinsically at my emotions, I’ve become pretty good at seeing emotions in other people and connecting with their culture.”

Last summer, Pavith traveled to Guatemala for her nonprofit, Together for Better, helping bring hundreds of children’s toys to underprivileged communities. The experience challenged her in new ways: navigating language barriers, cultural differences and hands-on problem solving, but she embraced it through the same focus and patience she honed through tennis. She was struck by the joy of the little children she met, which deepened her appreciation for gratitude and reinforced her belief that meaningful actions come from being consistent, not from the most extravagant ones.

“Even the simplest things can have the biggest impacts,” Pavith said. “We don’t need crazy solutions to make big results, but we just need determination to follow through with them. This has really driven me to explore all my interests to the fullest capacity and try to find unique ways to create those meaningful experiences for myself.”

Her growth and resilience aren’t just evident in how she approaches her passions, but they show in how she approaches her community. Close friend senior Janam Chahal has known Pavith for many years and admires her dedication to bettering the lives of those around her.

“From the moment I first met Pavith, I thought she was one of the kindest people I’ve ever met,” Janam said. “Over the past three or four years, I have grown to notice that she is not only a really hard worker, but she’s also really driven to do influential work wherever she goes. She constantly has a lot on her plate from athletics to academics, yet she knows how to balance it all super well with a smile on her face.”

Pavith’s maturity both as a player and a person is reflected in her development on the court over the years. Tennis coach Lu Tang coached Pavith since she was 13 and witnessed firsthand her evolution into a Division III caliber athlete throughout the years.

“She is very open-minded to learn and does not give up on what she’s trying to achieve,” Tang said. “Her determination and the will to do better is what I really admire. She’s also very open-minded to learn from me with her best ability.”

Beyond performance and progress, her journey carries a deeper meaning for those who have watched her along the way. Close friend senior Minal Jalil appreciates her humble daily approach to each situation she’s in.

“Pavith has this incredible work ethic,” Minal said. “The first game I got to see her play tennis was her senior night, and it was just so fulfilling for me to watch the culmination of all her hard work in this one game. That’s something really special because that’s not surface level about her.”

For Pavith, this sense of responsibility extends naturally from her own challenges with perseverance. The lessons she’s learned on the court about patience and focus translate into the way that she mentors others and approaches every new challenge.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself, and it took me a lot to see that winning and losing is not the end of the world,” Pavith said. “The biggest lesson for me was learning that it’s not a loss unless you don’t learn anything. Once I started seeing things like that, I started enjoying the process a lot more and got more invested in tennis.”