Siddhant Mishra’s impact on Enloe is undeniable. From his hard work as Vice President of FBLA, leadership as President of MBSA, and accomplishments in Speech and Debate, it’s clear that there’s passion, excitement, and genuine care behind everything that he does.
“When he believes in something, he really goes for it,” said Adithi Prasanna, “he’s a very generous and kind person.” Prasanna has known Mishra since freshman year and works with him on Speech and Debate board. “He will stick it out for people, and he does just that,” said Prasanna.
One of Mishra’s longest running commitments is FBLA, which he’s been a part of since middle school. Currently, Siddhant serves as vice president, a role that helps him push his teammates to success. As VP, Mishra committed to, “office hours and lunch hours, and really anything and everything that [I] could do to help people … and it ended up working.” That same year, the team competed at nationals and “went from zero people nationally [the previous] year to eight people, which was a crazy improvement. I was really proud of that work.”
FBLA isn’t the only organization Mishra has strived to improve in his time at Enloe. Although he doesn’t want to be a doctor, Mishra has worked hard to make MBSA better for all its members. Starting on leadership as freshmen coordinator, Mishra sought to solve the problems he noticed firsthand. “I learned a lot from a lot of the mistakes that I made freshman year …. If [there] is something that I can stop someone else from doing then I’d love to do that … fix things that I couldn’t have fixed for myself, right?”
Now, as MBSA President, Mishra has continued and expanded this hard work. His goal is now “highlighting all of the resources that MBSA provides and making it a lot easier for students to find those resources and then use them.” While on paper, MBSA isn’t the most applicable to what Mishra wants to do, he’s still grateful for all the opportunities it has given him. To Mishra, MBSA is “just a matter of what you make of it.”
With such a busy schedule, Mishra often needs a “breath of fresh air.” Although it appears out of character to strangers, Mishra blows off steam through dance. Much of his activities are part of academic or career goals, but with dance, he said, “[it’s] really just for me, because I enjoy it.” Despite being aware of the team, Mishra didn’t realize dance was something he’d want to do until the Asian Student Association showcase during his freshman year. He noted that dance was, “An entirely different community” from what he’s used to, and a nice break from the high-pressure Enloe academic environment.
Considering his work in FBLA and MBSA, it’s no surprise that Mishra’s true passion is helping people through a career in public policy and drafting legislation. Mishra noted, “Not necessarily politics … I wouldn’t see myself there, but I would definitely see myself as more [of] a behind the scenes kind of guy.”
Mishra’s interest in policy stemmed from his involvement in Speech and Debate where he competes in a mock congress. Starting in sophomore year, to Mishra, “debate [has] been a large part of my personality.” Currently, Mishra works on board as secretary, however, as a junior he coached debate at Carnage Middle School and Martin Middle School.
“He was a very great teacher. He really did pour all of his time and energy into it,” said Prasanna. Further, she noted that Mishra has always been very involved in debate, whether his work was in the classroom or behind the scenes. “You can tell that he’s very passionate about what he does.”
“Middle school coaching [was] arguably one of my favorite experiences from high school because it was nice to see so many people that were like little versions of me … I could see myself in all of them,” said Mishra. Much like his work in FBLA, watching his debaters improve and find success was an extremely proud moment.
One part of debate that pushed Mishra towards public policy was learning to turn discourse into solutions. While his opponents may fall on different ends of the political spectrum, “The one thing that we can agree on, is that right now, things aren’t where they should be … I want to be able to do something about it. I want to be able to make some sort of positive, meaningful change.” Beyond wanting to make the world a better place, Mishra finds policymaking “really interesting. Nothing has ever been as fun.”
Whether he’s working in a courtroom, on the floor of Congress, or behind the scenes at a civil rights advocacy group, Mishra is sure to make an impact. The Eagle’s Eye wishes him luck in all future endeavors, whatever that may be.
