ROUND ROCK, Texas -- It is a strange time for many, including senior students who are finishing high school in a very unexpected way.
- Started business to help students with SAT and ACT
- Earned black belt in Tang Soo Do martial arts
“This certainly isn’t how I expected senior year to go with prom coming up and graduation and all those things might be canceled due to this virus,” said Rishi Venkat.
Venkat is a senior at McNeil High School and our Scholar Athlete of the Month for April. For now, he’s finishing up his last semester with online class work. He also says he’s taken more time to read books and catch up on TV.
He’s a young man who keeps himself busy.
“I’ve always been the person, whenever I do something, I do it to the best of my ability and can’t do anything half-heartedly,” said Venkat.
Included in that is the time he’s devoted to starting his own business last summer. Venkat and a friend created a company called Genius Test Prep. They offer students help in preparing for the ACT and SAT tests. Venkat uses his experience of preparing for the test, and scoring a 1560 on the SAT, to help others.
“I learned a lot of things I could teach other people in an efficient manner so I wouldn’t be charging an extreme amount of money,” said Venkat.
On top of school and the business, Venkat has been active in the community. He’s spent time volunteering at the Round Rock serving center. He’s also been a part of the soccer team at McNeil and has a black belt.
“Soccer is pretty much the only sport I can play,” Venkat jokes. “I’ve also been involved in karate and have a black belt in Tang Soo Do martial arts.”
He hasn’t picked which college he’ll be going to yet but wants to study business and become an entrepreneur in the future.
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