Ishita Bafna exemplifies what it means to be both a driven leader and a genuine friend to all. Known for her dedication to innovation, her thoughtful approach to leadership, and her ability to balance countless commitments, Ishita has left a lasting impact on the Enloe community.
One of Ishita’s most prominent roles has been her involvement in FBLA, where she currently serves as president. Her favorite part of FBLA has always been competitive events, especially roleplay events, which she has participated in for the past six years. With over 70 events to choose from, Ishita appreciates how FBLA allows students to explore a wide range of skills and interests. What she values most, however, is watching others grow. “I love when I see people lock in for competitive events,” she said, explaining how rewarding it is to see members improve over time. As president, one of her favorite memories was last year’s State Leadership Conference awards ceremony, where she watched many Enloe students grow significantly. She also appreciates FBLA’s annual chapter social, a tradition that highlights the strong sense of community within the club by allowing members to connect beyond regular meetings and strengthen relationships within the chapter.
In addition to FBLA, Ishita is also president of Enloe’s Wearable Device Challenge (WDC) team, a year-long engineering competition in partnership with NC State. Through WDC, she worked with a team of five other students to design ApneCare, a wearable medical device aimed at helping patients with sleep apnea. The team created an eye mask that provides gentle stimulation to help open the jaw during sleep, offering a comfortable solution for patients. Their hard work was rewarding and further fueled Ishita’s passions for medical devices and engineering.
Despite her impressive accomplishments, those closest to Ishita emphasize her character above all else. Senior and best friend of over 12 years to Ishita, Julie Ye described her as “always so bubbly” with a consistently positive and encouraging attitude. “She’ll always listen to you, and she just has that comfortable energy,” Julie shared. Similarly, senior and close friend Eva John echoed this sentiment, calling Ishita “genuine” and praising her thoughtfulness and work ethic. Both friends highlighted how, despite being incredibly busy, Ishita always makes time for meaningful conversations and quality time with those she cares about.
Whether she is reminiscing about shared memories or talking for hours about everyday life, conversations with Ishita never feel forced or rushed. Julie noted that with Ishita, “You’ll never run out of things to talk about,” a reflection of both her warmth and her ability to make others feel heard. Her joyful presence has made her not only a longtime friend but someone her peers turn to for support and connection.
Ishita is also someone others actively seek out for guidance and reassurance. Eva shares that “I ask her for a lot of advice all the time because I really value what she says, and I know what she says [has my] best interest in mind.” Described as hardworking, thoughtful, and real, Ishita remains grounded even as she takes on new challenges, a quality that her friends respect and admire.
Carrying her passion and care for her friends into her work, Ishita has pursued extensive research projects. She serves as the Chief Technology Officer for Sensible Pad, a startup focused on creating a non-invasive diagnostic tool that uses menstrual blood to detect cervical diseases and, more recently, endometriosis. As CTO, Ishita runs experiments, prototypes devices, and collaborates with team members to ensure the product is both technically feasible and user-centered. She joined the team as a freshman after being recruited by the original founders and credits Sensible with teaching her how to transform an idea into an engaging and impactful presentation.
Ishita’s research experience also extends to the Garcia Summer Research Program at Stony Brook University, where she explored material science for the first time. Stepping outside her usual biomedical focus, she worked on a project developing a flame coating to help prevent wildfires in vegetation. After completing the project, she presented her research at a conference in Boston. Additionally, she holds a research position at NC State, assisting a PhD student with the development of small biodegradable batteries for various device applications.
Outside of academics and research, Ishita enjoys quieter moments. She loves doing puzzles, going on walks, and reconnecting with nature. She is also an avid reality TV fan, mentioning that “I think out of the 27 seasons of Big Brother, I watched 25 of them.”
This fall, Ishita will attend Duke University, where she plans to double major in biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering and materials science (MEMS). As she prepares for this next chapter in her life, her friends offer heartfelt advice.
From Julie:
“I would say never change. [Who] you are right now is kind of the core of who you are as a person. I know college changes a lot of people, but I hope you don’t change too much because I love you the way you are. And you know yourself the best out of anyone out there, so always trust your gut and what you’re thinking, and it’ll take you to very successful places.”
From Eva:
“Stay true to yourself, because [you’re] a very confident person. … I feel like we are going into such a new kind of phase in life where there’s going to be so many changes. … Stay true to your passions [and] to yourself because people will always have something to say [and] everyone’s gonna have an opinion about what you’re doing. But at the end of the day, it really only matters what you’re doing.”
With her curiosity, compassion, and determination, Ishita Bafna has already accomplished so much, and The Eagle’s Eye has no doubt that her future holds even greater things. We wish you the best of luck, Ishita, and go Blue Devils!
