Westport Public Schools

Rising Senior #MoveWithPurpose Riya Patel is a rising senior at Staples High School who's interested in healthcare and policy. As Vice President of her school's Model UN Club, she's tackled global issues. She co-founded a nonprofit that helps students in her community and interned at NYU Langone this summer, learning about COVID-19's long-term effects. Riya swims varsity for Staples High School and loves hiking—she even made it to Everest Base Camp. She's into art, trying new food, and discovering cool spots around town with friends. As a Communications Intern for Edison Township, Riya gets to use her design skills to help shape her hometown's image, which means a lot to her as someone who's lived there her whole life.

Rising Sophomore #OnYourLeft Ahaan Gupta is a rising sophomore at Staples High School who thrives in competitive and rigorous environments. A dedicated student and varsity athlete, he balances a rigorous academic schedule with both the rigor of long-distance running and the intensity of soccer, in which he most recently represented his team internationally in Portugal. Whether on the field, in the lab, or designing a new product, Ahaan brings focus, clarity, and a drive to be curious and thoughtful about his work. Outside of school, Ahaan is passionate about music, engineering projects, and reading. As a communications intern, Ahaan brings a sharp, clear voice and a systems-level mindset. Ahaan understands that ideas are only as powerful as the way that they are shared, and is working hard as an intern to push the envelope.

Rising Senior #SeizeYourMoment Chris Saavedra, a rising senior at Staples High School, is a dedicated and self-motivated student. As a staff writer for SHS’s Eagle’s Eye newspaper, he founded and writes for the column Wings of Leadership, dedicated to interviewing and spotlighting notable figures within the Edison community. He is also a member of the Spanish National Honors Society, where he refined his skills in teamwork collaboration, project coordination, and leadership. Outside of the classroom, Chris is a long-time volunteer for the Hands of Hope for the Community food bank, where he utilizes his bilingual skills to register Spanish-speaking clients and assists in the packaging and transportation of essential goods to those in need. Chris applied for the communications internship due to his desire to help streamline correspondence and awareness of district initiatives and events.

Rising Senior #VisionToReality Saatvik Guduru is a rising senior at Staples High School who is really interested in computer science and environmental activism. As an engaged member of 501(c)(3) non-profit TurnUp Activism, he has spent time doing civic work and grassroots organizing for real change. When not doing activism, he enjoys doing programming projects that blend creativity and logic, such as app development and coding challenges. Saatvik is also a JV member of his school’s cross country team. In his free time, Saatvik enjoys watching movies and drawing, and painting. His passion for enhancing his technical and creative skills prompted him to join the Communications Internship with the Westport School District, where he hopes to develop websites and experiment with digital design. He looks forward to combining technology with creativity to build a more unified community.

Rising Senior #WriteYourOwnStory Diya Mehta, a rising senior at Staples High School, is a Communications Intern at the Westport Board of Education. In college, she wants to pursue communication because she believes that different mediums of communication are extremely powerful in influencing people’s actions and thoughts. By being a Communications Intern, she will be able to practice the skills that she wants to learn in college. In school, Diya is a member of the WPS Weekly, a digital school newsletter that she writes and takes photos/videos for. Outside of school, she writes for a local print newspaper, The Metuchen Times. In addition to this, she volunteers for Red Cross blood drives once every couple of months. In relation to communication, outside of school, she completed media-related courses from Rutgers and Georgetown University. In her free time, Diya loves to write, listen to music, and binge-watch her favorite Netflix TV shows.

Rising Junior #SkysTheLimit Kavan Malaviya is a rising junior at Staples High School with a strong passion for data analytics and digital communication. He enjoys blending creativity with functionality and has explored a wide range of interests, from editing videos and managing websites to developing user-friendly digital tools. At school, Kavan is actively involved in numerous extracurriculars. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of The Eagle’s Eye, Staples High School's student newspaper, and as Vice President of Community Service for the FCCLA chapter. He also participates in DECA, Science Olympiad, and Quizbowl. Outside of the classroom, Kavan is a dedicated musician who plays both the flute and alto saxophone, often performing at recitals and local venues. He enjoys reading, listening to music, and spending time with friends in his free time. This summer, Kavan is excited to join Westport Public Schools as a Communications Intern.

Rising Sophomore #JustPlayYourCardsRight Prathana Deen is a rising sophomore at Staples High School and a committed Communications Intern. Her interest in communications began with learning computer science while also developing graphic design skills. She studies programming languages such as JAVA, creates web pages on many different platforms, but also has been doing digital art for three years.She chose to be a Comms. Intern because this opportunity means she does not have to choose between these two passions, but rather she can do both. She aspires to have a career where she can have full creativity and continue web design. Other hobbies that she enjoys include sewing, embroidery, poetry, and playing cards. She can definitely beat you in Bluff or Speed! Recently, during this internship, she has worked on district branding and is looking forward to benefiting WPS further. She hopes her service will help out many other families and students in the community.