The soft sound of a tennis ball bouncing off a racket and landing on the court. The smell of fresh clay and synthetic courts blending together. The rhythm of a doubles match echoing across the tennis court. For Yash Sachdeva (’26), tennis has always carried much more than just being a sport, but represented a place for growth and learning.

Yash first started his tennis journey at the age of five years old in India, when trips to his brother’s cricket academy exposed him to a neighboring tennis court that intrigued him. He became so interested in the sport that he signed up for lessons and immediately fell in love. Yash  began to draw inspiration from Swiss former professional tennis player Roger Federer, a role model who motivated him to continue participating in tennis upon moving to the United States.

“When I moved to the U.S, I started playing on synthetic courts,” Yash said. “It provided me with a space to just play. I loved this one player — Roger Federer — because he made it look so easy. He never got angry when he [lost]. He always gave calm and he just found a way every single time. He made me fall in love with the game.” 

While tennis allowed for Yash to enjoy some downtime while playing, his love for the sport led him to continue playing despite challenges. At eight years old, a medical visit to examine his foot structure created uncertainty from others as to whether he would be able to play competitively. However, despite the discouragement, Yash refused to give up doing what he loved. 

“Everybody around me started telling me that I could never play pro,” Yash said. “And at that time I really wanted to play. I was really passionate about it. I loved it so much. But I chose not to listen to him. I just said no. [I had] that mentality to just to say, ‘well, that’s fine. I’ll still try.’” 

That same persistence extends beyond the tennis court. Yash’s interest in medicine and health equity first developed through his early involvement with Kushy Baby, a Yale non-profit that typically only offers internships to graduate students. Building on that foundation, in frosh year he began working on his own nonprofit organization. After persevering despite setbacks while setting up his nonprofit, he formally founded Inclusive Healthcare, a student-led initiative aimed at expanding healthcare education and resources, in his junior year.

“I started to get more Harker kids and non-Harker kids involved. Now we have been able to expand to schools across the Bay Area, schools internationally, in the UK, India, and the US, and we have got some schools in Europe. We’re looking for some schools in Canada as well right now to be able to grow a lot more.”

Outside of Inclusive Healthcare, Yash also shares his passion for healthcare and medicine through Medical Club. Biology teacher and Medical Club adviser Dr. Matthew Harley, who taught Yash in AP Biology and Biotechnology, reflects on Yash’s engagement with Medical Club. 

“As a sophomore, he was bringing ideas to the club about things that he was interested in doing [with] possible guest speakers,” Dr. Harley said. “It’s fairly rare for a non-officer member, especially a younger student like Yash, to come forward with these ideas, so that was very notable. He didn’t have any fear or shame and it speaks to his passion for biology and medicine.”

Yash’s dedication to leadership also shines through his work with Link Crew, where he helps to guide freshmen through their first year at Harker. He was initially drawn to Link Crew as a freshman when he saw how passionate his own link crew was about guiding his advisory. 

“I fell in love with Link Crew as a freshman,” Yash said. “I could always reach out to them. They were always there for me and I wanted to help other freshmen as well. They were really instrumental in that for me.”

Yash joined the Link Crew program in junior year serving as a member, but rose to the role of Link Crew leader in his senior year. He took on this additional responsibility to help new Link Crew members leave the same impact on their freshman that Yash’s own Link Crew had on him. 

“I helped other new Link Crew people coming in understand what we do, how to do it better and how to help freshmen,” Yash said. “It’s a really unique place to be, because you’re seeing these kids grow as freshmen — freshman year is so instrumental because you’re exploring so much in a new environment. You’re learning so much more and I’m grateful to help these freshmen through such an important period of their lives.”

Mathematics teacher Dr. Anu Aiyer, who taught Yash two years ago in Honors Precalculus and oversees Link Crew, highlights how Yash has grown both academically and in Link Crew. 

“In the classroom, he brings enthusiasm and willingness to try different approaches to solve problems,” Dr. Aiyer said. “[With regards to Link Crew], the fact that he got nominated itself speaks to the fact that adults think he is able to represent what Harker stands for. In Link Crew, he is one of the leaders who leads out on meetings.”

Close friend Rahul Sundaresan (’26), who first met Yash in freshman year in Study of Music, reflects on how they both immediately formed a connection that still lasts today.

“He was the only one who laughed at my jokes, because they weren’t very funny,” Rahul said. “He’s still a good person. He finds things funny and jokes about things. He’s a lighthearted guy, but he’ll help you out if you need it.”

Looking back at his growth over the last four years of high school, Yash emphasizes how the amount of effort one puts into anything translates to what they get out of it. 

“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them,’” Yash said. “You have to show how much you want something. That’s what I’ve always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it.”