Vivek Moorjani

“I want to leave a legacy of kindness. I try to live my life as kindly as possible and spread as much kindness to others as I can. I really hope that people — not just because they see me being kind — will also be kind to one another. Even now, we have so many kind people on campus, and I hope that continues, with everyone sharing helpfulness and kindness with each other,” Sathvik Vemulapalli (’26) said.

The faint sounds of chatter ring across the quad as students stop by a Living with Intent, Focus and Enthusiasm (LIFE) Board booth covered in cards and activities. Behind the table, Sathvik Vemulapalli (’26) ensures that everything goes smoothly.

Sathvik first joined the LIFE Board in frosh year because he was drawn to the way small acts of kindness unite and bring people together. Whether it’s planning lunchtime activities and booths, helping to organize graduation or staying back after an event to help clean up, he’s motivated to keep going to make sure others constantly feel seen and impacted.

“I’m very, very grateful for the opportunity that they chose me,” Sathvik said. “Since getting in [to the LIFE Board], I’ve helped manage some of the activities that we’ve done, and I’ve helped some months in planning graduation.”

Through his participation in the LIFE Board, Sathvik found a way to channel his love for assisting others. Through actions like setting up for LIFE Board facilitated events or brainstorming new ideas with his committee, his motivation to contribute to his community extends both within and outside the Harker community.

“LIFE Board always has a booth, and we have a lot of activities and goodies that help our campus feel more connected,” Sathvik said. “Helping people is a great motivator for me: It’s why I volunteer on weekends. The LIFE Board was a great way for me to do so, too. I love creating a booth or helping out with idea making so that way our campus can be more cool and happy.”

Beyond his work with the LIFE Board, Sathvik’s creativity comes to life through his dedication to mythology. His interest for this subject sparked in fifth grade when he was drawn to exploring how different cultures explain the concept of the world.

“Mythology has always been very interesting to me,” Sathvik said. “I like culture and trying to see what is important to people. I’ve enjoyed talking about it, and it’s been more of an interest of how things come together over time and how certain themes and messages echo across different places.”

Building on his interest in the topic, Sathvik decided to create a place on campus where he could share this same love for the subject with other members of the community, founding Mythology Club in sophomore year.

“I really like mythology, so I wanted to make a space for that,” Sathvik said. “I thought a club was a good idea for that discussion, so we hosted meetings that discussed the different kinds of mythologies that we have. In the beginning, we start up with Greek mythology and it’s slow to try to get people and keep them together. However, as we do it, we’re getting bigger and bigger and we end up getting a lot more people.”

Sathvik extended his fascination with mythology and storytelling into the digital world by creating his own video game, “The Heart of the Phoenix” in seventh grade. He began designing the game through DiscoveryX, a year-long program where students create their own projects. It gradually evolved into a role-playing game inspired by “Zelda,” and he weaved elements of Greek mythology and classical music into the game through designing monsters based on mythological creatures and crafting their attack patterns to match those of legendary stories.

Close friend Chloee Yang (’26), who met Sathvik in the eighth grade through a common friend group, witnessed his growth firsthand and reflects on Sathvik’s growth in creativity over the years.

“One of the main things he’s grown in is his poetry and all of his creative endeavors,” Chloee said. “I’ve seen a lot of his work and his writing feels so mature now in high school. He’s also been working on a video game called ‘The Heart of the Phoenix’ ever since seventh grade, and the demo is almost ready to be released so I’m very excited for that. It was interesting to see him develop his passion and share with others.”

Beyond his creativity and involvement in campus activities, Sathvik also brings a sense of positivity and joy to those around him. Business and entrepreneurship teacher Sam Lepler, who is Sathvik’s advisor and taught him in AP Economics this year, noticed this firsthand.

“I’ve had him as an advisee for years, and he brings absolute joy,” Lepler said. “He is positive, energetic, funny, sweet, kind, thoughtful — just a giant teddy bear. He was just so friendly and so sweet and such a wonderful member of our advisory, and he’s stayed exactly the same: still sweet as can be and still a wonderful member of my advisory and a positive force in my class as well.”

Sathvik’s sister, Shreya Vemulapalli (’26), describes the duality of their relationship.

“He’s my friend, so our identity can be very fun, but also very serious at the same time,” Shreya said. “We can be there going through the hard moments at the same time and at the same time make jokes and have that serious relationship as well. He’s also very ambitious. Once he gets his heart set on something, he will get done. He is very perseverant and also very honest.”

Beyond all of his experiences in LIFE Board and Mythology Club, Sathvik hopes to leave a sense of positivity and impact on those around him.

“I want to leave a legacy of kindness,” Sathvik said. “I try to live my life as kindly as possible and spread as much kindness to others as I can. I really hope that people — not just because they see me being kind — will also be kind to one another. Even now, we have so many kind people on campus, and I hope that continues, with everyone sharing helpfulness and kindness with each other.”