Award-winning San Jose high school senior Sreekavya Nimishakavi isn’t an ordinary 17-year-old.
She introduced a new Model United Nations into her school system; developed a floating cities prototype for the construction industry; organized donations of feminine hygiene products to be sent to India and supported a coding marathon for teens.
The Santa Teresa High School senior who’s applying to the University of California, Berkeley and intends to study business, sees entrepreneurship as an outlet for her creativity. Once a timid child, her goal today is to emulate Bill Gates.
“I saw this one magazine and I saw his face… My dad showed me his net worth and I’m like, ‘Well, I want to do that.’”
But more than wealth and glory, she wants to have “lasting impact” to create opportunities for other youngsters.
Her desire, she says, comes in response to being bullied and dismissed as “just a girl” or “too inexperienced.
Her major passion has been leading Model United Nations chapters—which offer young people the chance to learn how the UN works through simulations of UN practices—in the East Side Union High School District in San Jose and at Granite Bay High School near Sacramento.
Frustrated by flaws she saw in model UN clubs, and wanting to create a better platform for students, last year she established the Golden State Independent Delegation, which is not associated with a particular school and gives middle schoolers the chance to participate and grow in ways most delegations do not.
Noting that other Model UNs have traditions of nepotism and favor students with connections, she says, “By being a nonprofit, GSID can focus on empowering students from different backgrounds, creating a supportive community where they can learn and thrive together.”
On Nov. 2 at Carlmont High School in Belmont, GSID cohosted BelMUN, a Model UN conference open to Bay Area sixth through 12th grade students.
She also fostered inclusion in helping organize and serving as head of marketing and finance for the Amber Hacks Hackathon, a student-led 24-hour marathon of coding for high schoolers of all experience levels on Oct. 26-27.
The online event was created to give “participants a chance to collaborate, innovate, learn, and network,” Sreekavya says.
Her interests expand beyond Model UN and coding. In April, she received a certificate of excellence award from the Santa Clara County Construction Careers Association for her project envisioning floating cities.
“I was fortunate to win two medals and contractor prizes during S4CA. Now, I’ve got the certificate to top it off!” she posted on Linked In.
She cites her “amazing computer science teacher” Carole Ng for helping her explore “construction and innovation with a futuristic view” as an industry she hadn’t previously considered.
In another project sponsored by NovaReach International Foundation, a nonprofit she established, donations from students from several schools funded the collection of feminine hygiene products which were sent to needy recipients in Chennai and Hyderabad, her parents’ home cities.
Sreekavya credits her parents for their consistent support. Her father Raghuram Nimishakavi is a software engineer; her mother Jyostna Raghuram Nimishakavi is a homemaker who takes care of Sreekavya and her 13-year-old sister.
Sreekavya, who sustained a concussion in spring and recently spent a day in the hospital, continues to complete her schoolwork—she has taken numerous advanced placement classes during her high school career—and help others.
She estimates she has dedicated over 850 hours every year to teaching and mentoring students in sixth through 12th grades and has influenced hundreds of young leaders.
She attributes her success to good planning and “crucial” time management.
She says, “I dedicate several hours each day to studying and completing homework, depending on my schedule. Ideally, I work on my nonprofits, competitions and initiatives until around 1 a.m. each night. As someone in high-level leadership positions, I attend numerous meetings throughout the day, so I make it a priority to stay organized and plan my week meticulously to ensure I meet all my commitments.”
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