When senior Adithi Prasanna first arrived at Enloe, joining the school’s speech and debate team was far from the obvious choice. “I was a very shy person when I was younger,” Adithi remarks.
Four years later, what began as a small push from friends has transformed her into the passionate and confident person she is today.
Adithi lives her life full of conviction, even in the face of challenges. Thrown into the world of debate, she struggled with public speaking and lost many rounds in the process. However, this didn’t last very long and soon she was able to grow significantly. She also learned how to have fun at these competitions, even pushing herself to try new events such as Congressional debate and speech events. Later she would place as a quarterfinalist at the National Speech & Debate Association for the Congress event, and an octofinalist at the Harvard competition for Lincoln-Douglass.
Through months and years of hard work, she developed the valuable skills of time management and organization. This allowed her to step beyond being a member of Enloe’s speech and debate team and into a leadership position, captain of the Lincoln-Douglass (LD) debate team, which focuses on moral frameworks and one-on-one argumentation. As captain, Adithi met with the LD team every week and taught them how to format their cases and simulate practice tournaments—all crucial components for success at the real competition.
Adithi is now president of Enloe’s speech and debate chapter. When asked why she chose to expand further into this role, she explained that it would allow her to do more for the club. “As president, my goal has been to improve the club and create more opportunities. That includes fundraising, attending more national tournaments, and addressing resource gaps that public schools face compared to private schools,” she says. And due to her efforts, her goal has already come to fruition. Enloe has expanded into middle school coaching, where every week three debate captains are assigned to Carnage and Martin Middle Schools to guide younger students. Since coaching can get expensive, giving them this early exposure to public speaking prepares them to perform well by the time they get to high school.
To be passionate about something is one thing, but being willing to search for that passion is another. For Adithi, much of her high school experience has been about trying new things, and then figuring out what works and what doesn’t. “Exposure to different fields is important” is a motto that she lives by. Her time in MBSA was an example of this, and like debate, she was initially attracted to it through peer influence.“[MBSA and HOSA] helped me understand what I don’t want to do. It helped me realize that becoming a doctor isn’t the path I want to pursue, which was important for figuring out my direction,” she says. Instead of viewing this realization as a setback, Adithi considers it a necessary step in the process of discovering what truly motivates her and where she hopes to make an impact in the future.
Later during freshman year, Adithi’s interest was piqued when she spotted the RoboEagles at Enloe’s club fair. Again following her mantra to try new things, she began to get involved in the engineering process of robotics, such as building robots using CAD, coding, and mechanical design. Joining this club introduced her to the world of engineering, which led to her first step into research.
As a high school student, finding research opportunities is never easy. Fortunately for Adithi, she had the unique chance to work on a project that she loves at NC State University—building a bioengineered pill powered by saliva that collects intestinal fluid samples. The project primarily aims to create a pill that can collect intestinal fluid samples in a less invasive way. “Currently, collecting these samples requires uncomfortable procedures. This pill could simplify the process and make it easier to gather data in medical or global health settings,” Adithi explains.
Despite handling all these responsibilities at once, Adithi has never allowed her busy schedule to get in the way of being a treasured friend. Daksha Karthikeyan, fellow senior and childhood friend, sums up Adithi into one word: compassionate.
Having known Adithi since she was no more than 5 years old, Daksha has watched her grow into someone who not only feels empathy for others but acts on it. They’ve shared countless memories together over the years, and Daksha is most grateful for “Adithi’s ability to make others believe in themselves.” Whether it’s walking to the gym together, supporting each other through school, or simply sharing a perfectly timed joke during a boba run, Adithi’s compassion and humor leaves a lasting impression on everyone she meets.
Although Adithi is not yet certain which school she will attend after high school, she hopes to continue pursuing her passions while exploring new opportunities at the same time. She plans to major in statistics or data science and then attend a law school with the goal of becoming a patent lawyer. “I’m interested in the intersection of technology, innovation, and law, and I want to help people bring their ideas to life and give them a voice,” she remarks.
Looking back on her high school journey, Adithi’s experiences have been defined by exploration, growth, and a willingness to step outside her comfort zone. Her advice for others naturally reflects this mindset: “Try things you think you might not like. Don’t put yourself in a box too early. Even if something doesn’t work out, you’ll just learn from the experience.”
No matter where Adithi goes, meaningful impacts are sure to follow. We at The Eagle’s Eye wish her all the very best!
