San Jose, CA – Sahith Kudaravalli, a junior attending Bellarmine College Preparatory, was recently named the 2019 Most Philosophical Student in America by the Kids Philosophy Slam. His was the winning essay among those submitted by more than 4,000 high school students.
Kudaravalli, a resident of Fremont, initially learned about the competition from Bellarmine alumnus Ashwin Pillai of Santa Clara, who won the competition last year as a senior. “I drew inspiration from him to marinate in my ideas and find a way to communicate them with the world surrounding me,” noted Kudaravalli recently. His winning essay addressed the topic, Hate or Love: Which Has a Greater Impact on Society? Entries were judged on originality, creativity, strength of philosophical argument, organization, thought development, as well as spelling and grammar.
The student was mentored by Bellarmine faculty member and alumnus Nick Creech. “I served as Sahith's mentor for this competition, but in truth he was the driving force behind this endeavor and my role was merely to offer feedback as he turned his ideas into the final product,” Creech said recently. “As a student, Sahith is a dynamic and expressive speaker, but he's probably one of the best listeners that I've taught in a while. His ability to pay close attention to what others are saying, rather than just waiting for a turn to speak, makes him someone who can build on ideas and advance the conversation for everyone.”
The mission of Kids Philosophy Slam (www.philosophyslam.org) is to provide a voice and to inspire kids to think by unlocking their intellectual and creative potential through a unique and powerful philosophical forum.
“I think that creativity ultimately allows us to diagnose problems in the real world and devise infinite viable solutions, making our world a better place,” noted Kudaravalli, who shared that Bellarmine changed the fundamental way in which he perceives education. “Bellarmine helped me discover for myself that many things in this world are connected to each other and without learning about these ‘many things,’ you can’t really understand the one specific thing you’re trying to study.”