We had the great opportunity of interviewing Joshita Padala, a student from Virginia Tech about: Balanced Life
Here are some of her qualifications:
Education Junior chair in the Association for Women in Computing at Virginia Tech
Public Relations chair for the VT Science Olympiad
Majoring in Computer Science
Here are some important words she shares:
"...I stop to think about what my future can hold for me if I work hard at the moment and then I suddenly get the motivation to keep going."
"No major regrets, but I wish I picked up more interests other than just mainly violin. It would have been cool to explore different fields before I got into college. "
Q: If you realized you had given yourself too many commitments, how did you determine what to give up?
A: I kept what was beneficial to my future and college, and I gave up ones that were not beneficial or did not fit my interests.
Q: What is one thing you wish you knew while you were in high school?
A: One thing I wish I knew is that things come and go, and that you shouldn’t waste your time like dwelling on lost friendships. Although academically, I did well, I wish I didn’t spend so much time that I could've used towards school on other things like that.
Q: Have your passions always been the same as your actions? Or did you jump around a bit before settling?
A: Like I said earlier, as a Freshman I jumped around a lot and joined everything. I am glad I did that though because I was able to see which clubs really captivated me and later on those were the clubs that I stayed in.
Q: What is one of your proudest moments in high school?
A: One of my proudest moments was being qualified to attend nationals for TSA. This was such an amazing experience because I was able to meet like-minded students and gain so much more knowledge and different perspectives.
Q: What are some regrets that you have about your high school career?
A: No major regrets, but I wish I picked up more interests other than just mainly violin. It would have been cool to explore different fields before I got into college.
Q: What was your work ethic? (stay focused, multitask, take breaks, group work, etc.)
A: I am definitely the type of student that often takes breaks. I usually do a chunks of work and take a short break in order to refocus and give in my best work.
Q: Did you ever find time to develop soft skills? (emailing, resume-building, personal finance, etc.)
A: Yes. When I participated in the Mayor’s Youth Employment Program, I went through career training in which they covered resume-building and interviewing. And from practice, I became really good at it.
Q: Are you more spontaneous and flexible or do you follow a strict schedule?
A: I am more spontaneous and flexible because having a strict schedule holds me back to be a good student. In the end everything I need to get done, always ends up being done, so it has been working out for me.
Q: Whenever you felt like giving up, how did you get yourself motivated again?
A: This might be kind of silly, but simple things such as Youtube videos about people talking about their successes and inspirational music really always get me going again. I stop to think about what my future can hold for me if I work hard at the moment and then I suddenly get the motivation to keep going.
Learn more about Joshita and her experience on her LinkedIn account.
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