Sarina Chawla

My story is:

I’m a senior at Appleton East High School, and Tesla Engineering Charter School.

Looking ahead:

I’m really excited about college because I’m really looking forward to meeting new people, and going to classes that I’m really interested in. Right now, I’m in robotics and debate clubs. I really want to combine both of my interests. So I  want to be a patent lawyer because it will allow me to make use of my engineering background as well as my law background. I’ll do them both all the time already, just for fun. But I’ll miss high school.

I’m really passionate about:

Talking to people. I love hearing their life stories and learning what their passions are. I’m also very hard working. I stick with something, even if it’s a lot of trouble. I’ve worked really hard to be ranked in debate. Getting to top three in the state (WI) is my goal for the year. I think I get a lot of people get inspired around me. My partner has gotten very involved in debate this year, for example. This is the first year we’re going to nationals, in Illinois this November. I’m also involved in a robotics team at my school. I love the environment  – it’s student led and not teacher led – and that it makes me think differently about things.

If you could design a robot to replace any one daily activity, what would it be and what would you name that robot?

That’s a very thought-provoking question! I know a big thing for me is planning and getting organized. So I’d like a robot that organized my life – my schedule, but also everything else in general. But then it’d have to be something that would be around you all the time, so that could get annoying.

I can’t wait:

To meet the PopTech speakers. I’m really impressed how people communicate with each other. I was particularly excited about Loop.pH, this group building the sculptures out of fiberglass and wires. It was really amazing.