About Me!

My name is Atharv Joshi, and I am a student at the Massachusetts Academy of Mathematics and Science at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. My sending school is Westborough High School. I was born in Goa, India, but I moved to the United States when I was two years old and have lived in Westborough, MA ever since. I have a younger sister, 6 fish, and 2 snails. In my free time, I enjoy playing basketball with my friends and playing chess. Contact me at: apjoshi@wpi.edu

Community Service

Me Behind all the Candy I Raised

I've volunteered for about 150 hours, mostly through an organization called EKAM USA. While there, I participated in a variety of things, including volunteering at the Community Harvest Farm in Grafton, MA; conducting chess tutoring; and organizing food drop-offs to Worcester shelters. One activity in particular that I found really interesting was working with autistic kids at a special needs school in Goa, India. It taught me how to communicate and work with a variety of different people, even with a language barrier, and it was a great experience where I really felt that I made an actual impact. This year I plan to do much of my volunteering for my robotics team, FRC 190, as well as through the Mass Academy Community Service Club (MACS).

Junior Year

This year I have volunteered through STEM Saturday, a club at Mass Academy in which high school students lead hands-on STEM activities for kids ages 6 to 11. The goal of the club is to spark curiosity in younger students by giving them the chance to create, explore, and be amazed by fun science and engineering challenges. I helped run activities and worked directly with the kids, and I have seen how excited they get when they figure something out on their own. It has been one of the most rewarding things I have done this year, and I am excited to be co-leading the club next year.

I also participated in EKAM's Savers Drive, which collects donated clothes, toys, and household items from the community. Savers then buys the donated items by weight, and that money goes directly to funding EKAM's charity work. The items are later sold at affordable prices to people in need, so the drive ends up helping twice over. Over the course of the drive, I collected and sorted 17 bags of clothes, coats, and comforters totaling 173.1 lbs, along with 5 boxes of toys and books totaling 94.6 lbs. Seeing donations from across the community turn into both funding for EKAM and affordable goods for families that need them was a great reminder of how a simple drive can have a real, tangible impact.

Extracurriculars

Karate

Me Judging at Karate Tournament Me Holding a Silver Medal Me Holding a Silver Medal Me and Friends at Boston Open

I've been doing karate since I was in first grade, and I am now a first degree black belt. Starting in seventh grade, I have begun practicing karate competitively. I have won medals at the state, nation, and international levels, and I am also a licensed referee. In the summer of 2024 I won the silver medal in my sparring division at the US National Championships. Karate has taught me invaluable skills of perseverance, discipline, and integrity. Though I am no longer competing, karate is a sport that I will continue to pursue. Check out my dojo's website!

Math Team

Westborough Math Team in front of the John Harvard statue

I have been on the math team since I was in seventh grade. At Westborough High School, I was an active member of the club and attended meets at the Worcester County Mathematics League. This year I pushed myself further by joining the Math Team at Mass Academy. I love the problems because they push me to think analytically and creatively, and solving the problems is immensely satisfying. Each problem is solved in a different way, and cracking seemingly impossible problems is very rewarding. Math competitions expose me to areas of math that I never even knew existed, and it has inspired me to continue to learn and develop my math skills.

Debate Club

Westborough Debate Club at Our Banquet

Debate club has been one of my biggest passions since seventh grade. I competed in the Varsity Public Forum division at many tournaments on the state and national circuits my freshmen and sophomore year. Public Forum is a type of Speech and Debate where you try to argue your position to a parent judge. This activity taught me how to work with a variety of people, how to get my point across, and how to research effectively. Debate club has equipped me with skills that undoubtedly will carry forward and assist me for the rest of my life.