Kamal Korrapati
Senior Kamal Korrapati shares his many talents
Photo courtesy of Kamal Korrapati
Sameeksha Agarwal, Staff Writer
It is a Saturday evening and senior Kamal Korrapati is ready for yet another evening run. Most days, he runs past the H-Mart near his home and continues until the Walgreens near Chipotle. Today, rather than limiting himself to the same path, Korrapati steadies himself with a calm mind and runs off into the distance further than anticipated. Despite the uncertainty of this unprompted, more challenging detour, Korrapati runs with the same energy and passion as he normally would.
“There’s something about running that soothes the mind and makes me forget about the pressures I deal with,” Korrapati said. “Running helps me push myself in other avenues of life that bring out the best in me.”
Like most students, Korrapati’s life is divided between his various interests, whether that be his fondness for dance, passion for volunteering, or love for soccer. Korrapati finds that his natural inclination towards running allows him to relieve the stresses of day-to-day life and grow in other aspects, especially within his many extracurriculars.
One of Korrapati’s talents is dance, which he began studying at Shiva’s Dance Academy. As the years went by, his interest in dancing grew greatly. Even after leaving the dance academy, he continued to perform at weddings, graduation parties, and other events. At school, he joined Northview’s Quake Dance Club in his junior year, choreographing and learning new styles of dance with one of his good friends. In addition to this, Korrapati has explored other avenues through which he can further this passion for dance and music.
“I joined the marching band to expand my love for music. I enjoy playing the drums, because similar to dance, it's all rhythm,” Korrapati said. “I even joined Beta because dancing is fun, and I wanted to compete in the Beta Convention. We ended up placing 1st at state and 5th at nationals.”
Korrapati also has a knack for helping others and has led a variety of community service projects while being a part of the Vibha Club at Northview.
“Vibha is a non-profit organization that aims to encourage people to improve the education quality and livelihood in India. It's been an organization that my family has been involved in before I was born, and I’d like to call myself a reverent volunteer,” Korrapati said.
Korrapati provided a plethora of essentials to Indian families for COVID-relief, created a virtual seminar for future 9th graders, supplied food to families in Forsyth County, improved the environment by planting trees on lawns of temples, built materials for International Charter Schools, and organized a laptop drive. In his years of being vice-president and president of Vibha, Korrapati also heavily promoted and volunteered for their premier event of the year: the Dream Mile. This is a major marathon, involving 5k and 10k runs, and usually has a big turnout from the Indian community.
In his free time, Korrapati can be found playing soccer, either competitively or leisurely. He started out when he was four years old, and slowly built his interest over the years through tournaments. He has played on several teams, winning major competitions such as the State Cup, and minor ones like the Publix Academy Cup. He was the captain of the junior varsity team for soccer at Northview and now plays on the varsity team. Through the sport, not only was Korrapati been able to improve his skills as an athlete, but he was able to bond with his family members as well.
“My father is very critical of my game, and we bonded over soccer in a very tough love kind of way, which definitely made us closer than I thought,” Korrapati said.
One of the most important figures in Korrapati’s life is his older sister, Alekhya Korrapati. Unlike most brother-sister relationships, where the siblings often bicker with one another, Korrapati and his sister do not fight very often; instead, they constantly support each other.
“She’s a mentor to my every move, and she’s shaped my morals in life and how I tackle challenges today. She makes it her mandate to be there for all my firsts and achievements and I love her for that,” Kamal Korrapati said.
Alekhya Korrapati describes her brother as genuine, charismatic, and virtuous, and is very supportive of him.
“I am proud of many of his accomplishments, but what I am proud of most is his personality. He is compassionate toward his friends, curious about the world, and an all-around comical guy.”
One of Korrapati’s good friends, Shrey Bhatia, also agrees with this. He expresses how Korrapati’s empathetic and outgoing personality, along with his ability to light up the room no matter the circumstance, is one of Korrapati’s highlights.
“Because of Kamal’s ability to understand and connect with others as well as talk confidently amidst a crowd, he’s set for success in the future,” Bhatia said.
As of now, although Korrapati is unsure of his future plans, he hopes to choose wisely for himself and find a fulfilling career to pursue. He is considering becoming a pediatrician due to his love for medicine and being with children, and running for a political position later on when settled down, but is not completely sure yet.
“In many cases, it’s pointless in planning out the future because sometimes things happen naturally no matter how much thought and effort you put in,” Korrapati said.
While his future is still undecided, Korrapati does have one goal he resolutely wishes to achieve—to make an influential, yet unnoticed impact on the world. Whether that be through him becoming a doctor, an athlete, or a politician, Korrapti aspires to improve the wellbeing of others through his profession. To Korrapati, expecting to receive fame or recognition for such deeds is naive. As long as he is able to contribute to the greater good, he feels that his life will be meaningful.
“The human condition will improve on my doing whether I get the credit or not,” Korrapati said. “Making a mark is hard enough so I say do as much as you can to scratch the surface.”
