Leesville Road High School is filled with intelligent, goal-oriented and ambitious students that have shaped the Leesville community into what it is today. Tushar Varma, a senior at Leesville Road High School, is a stand out Leesville student.
Varma takes part in a long list of highly distinguishable student organizations. He is the president of Key Club, Vice President of Model United Nations, Vice President of National Art Honor Society, member of the National Honor Society, as well as the Leesville Liaisons and Student Executive Council.
Varma was born in Maryland and was brought up in a distinctly Asian household. “Growing up, my household had very traditional Asian customs,” said Varma. Varma thinks that because of his Indian upbringing, he has been pushed to be involved in as many student-led groups as he possibly could.
For Varma, the main reason he decided to be involved in so many activities is because he believes meeting as many people as possible is the best way to get through life. “You never know when you need people; the more people you know, more people that you have, you can have their back and they have yours,” said Varma.
Varma’s social life has drastically changed because of the copious number of student organizations he is apart of. “I get to go to a lot of events across the state with Model United Nations and with Student Executive Council.” Varma takes peace in the fact that he meets people that he will know for the rest of his life.
Although Varma does appreciate the doors that have opened for him and the how many amazing people he has met. He believes that his social life has also been negatively impacted. “It is a lot of work, I kind of don’t have any free time anymore,” said Varma. But for the diligent student, the work is worth it, even though he would prefer to have some time off.
Because of Varma’s involvement in so many clubs, he has a large impact on his fellow student body members. For many students at Leesville, Tushar is a is a vital part of the pride community because of his…
“I want to leave Leesville knowing that I met as many people as I could, and helped as many as I could with all these community service clubs. I’d like to know that all my service projects affected people in the community,” said Varma.
Community service clubs have helped Tushar blossom into who is today. “I was a really shy person in middle school. Getting involved in these clubs allowed me to open up a little bit more, and know I have no problem talking in front of large crowds of people, which is great,” said Varma.
As a senior, Varma has experienced the ins and outs of high school. “Four years go by really quickly, so I would recommend to try and be involved in as many clubs as possible, not everything, because obviously it’s so much stress, but try to be involved with things you are actually passionate about,” said Varma.
Varma also strongly believes that high school shouldn’t be all about college applications and a student’s grade point averages. “[I recommend not to] worry too much about college applications, actually do things you want to and have passion for,” said Varma. “Basically, don’t do what I did if you value your mental sanity.”
Varma plans to study abroad in Anthropology if he is accepted into the Global Gap Year Fellowship through The University of Chapel Hill, a fellowship that has a prestigious background and is well known in the Chapel Hill community. “I would travel for several months doing community service and other educational activities,” said Varma. However, Varma is not sure if he will get the fellowship. “There is an application process and then several interviews as well,”.
“I am really excited to start my career,” said Varma. “I really hope all the hard work throughout the years pays off.”
