Q&A with MYLC Winners
Q&A with MYLC Ambassador and Winner (2022 and 2023): Krish Attaluri
- How did you decide what topic(s) to focus on?
“I selected a topic that held personal significance for me and had a direct impact on both myself, my family and people like me in my community. While there are numerous global topics, I chose to address the topic that had an effect on my immediate community. This helped me conduct a comprehensive research and provide practical solutions.” - How much time did you spend researching your topic before deciding on the recommendation you gave to help address the problem?
“Once I had selected the specific topic to focus on, I dedicated approximately 2-3 hours per week over the course of 3 to 4 months to conducting research and penning my recommendations for potential solutions. This involved reaching out to affected individuals, consulting various administrators to gain their perspectives on the subject, and conducting extensive online research, all while managing my school work.” - How did you find people to talk to in your community about the problem?
“Given the personal importance of the topics I chose, affecting me and my family, I recognized that it probably affected other students and their families as well. I reached out to my classmates, friends, teammates, and their parents. Nearly everyone was open to discussing the topic and offered valuable insights and led to contact with other community members like teachers and coaches . The input from these sources led to the creation of surveys to gather additional feedback, which were shared on different social media platforms, giving me feedback from other members in my community.” - Who at your school did you turn to for advice and/or help?
“I contacted my middle school’s gifted program teachers and scheduled weekly 15-minute meetings with them to update them on my research progress and review my presentation video drafts. I brainstormed with other high school students who had experience in conducting research especially using social media.” - What are 2-3 things you did to set yourself up for success in this competition?
- Identify the topics which are of personal significance to me and affect my local community as well.
- Conducting thorough research by reaching out to a diverse set of people affected by the chosen topic.
- Regular feedback especially from my teachers helped build my presentation and frame my recommendations.
- Which part of the Challenge did you enjoy the most?
“My primary motivation for participating in this challenge was to offer solutions to local issues I have identified. The part of the challenge I enjoyed the most was formulating and suggesting solutions for the topic I chose. Additionally, engaging in conversations with various members of the community during my research was rewarding. It became evident during my research that the topic I selected resonated with many, not just myself, making it more meaningful.”
— Krish Attaluri, MYLC Ambassador and Winner (2022 and 2023)
Q&A with 2024 Winner (2024): Nithin Srinivasan
- What inspired you to compete in the McIntyre Youth Leadership Challenge?
“I was inspired to compete in the McIntyre Youth Leadership Challenge when I saw a post that my gifted program teacher sent to everyone, and I thought that it would be a fantastic opportunity to stretch and grow my mind. “ - How did you decide what topic(s) to focus on?
“I decided on a topic that directly influenced me and others at my school and county. I also decided on a topic that almost everyone complains about, but nobody takes action for.” - How much time did you spend researching your topic before deciding on the recommendation you gave to help address the problem?
“I spent around 2 to 3 hours a week for 2 months researching a potential solution for my problem. This included talking with other people affected by this problem and researching my problem. I also had to do this while balancing my regular schoolwork.” - How did you find people to talk to in your community about the problem?
“Since my problem affected me and those around me, I could ask my friends and other people they know are also affected by this problem just at my school and classroom.” - Who at your school did you turn to for advice and/or help?
“My gifted program teachers informed me about this challenge.” - What are 2-3 things you did to set yourself up for success in this competition?
- I had to think about a topic that affected me and those around me
- I had to research my topic and on potential solutions
- I had to put all the information I had gathered into a speech/essay.
- Which part of the Challenge did you enjoy the most?
“My favorite part of the Challenge was putting all the information I had gathered into an essay and making the presentation.”
— Nithin Srinivasan, MYLC Winner (2024)
Q&A with MYLC Winner (2025): Vartika Sharma
- What inspired you to compete in the McIntyre Youth Leadership Challenge?
I was inspired to compete in the McIntyre Youth Leadership challenge after hearing about it from my middle school’s gifted program teacher, and I saw it as a great opportunity to share something that I’m passionate about! I chose to focus my project on mental health because it’s an issue that affects so many people in our community and around the world. I wanted to help raise awareness, break the stigma, and do it all in a way that I enjoy- public speaking. - How did you decide what topic(s) to focus on?
I knew from the start that I wanted to pick a topic/issue that was often overlooked-but significant to the overall well-being of our community, like Mental Health. It’s a topic that impacts so many people, including people I see and talk to every day. That made it easier to gather insights, conduct research, and suggest solutions based on what was happening around me. - How much time did you spend researching your topic before deciding on the recommendation you gave to help address the problem?
I spent about 1-2 months researching reliable sources before deciding on what solutions I would propose to address the problem. During this time, I also reached out to people in my school, spoke with various organizations all over cary, and got advice from all my teachers/school counselors. - How did you find people to talk to in your community about the problem?
Since my topic was one that influenced so many people around me, I was easily able to find people around me who relate to it on a personal level. I was also able to talk to my school counselors and other organizations (through email), which gave me so many valuable perspectives. - Who at your school did you turn to for advice and/or help?
I turned to several people especially my school’s gifted program teachers and my counselors. Their advice and feedback played a big role in strengthening my research.
— Vartika Sharma, MYLC Winner (2025)
Q&A with MYLC Winner (2026): Vaishnavi Tummalapalli
- What inspired you to compete in the McIntyre Youth Leadership Challenge?
I got inspired to compete in the McIntyre Youth Leadership Challenge because growing up, I always felt that speaking up was something that only adults could do. I always see medical and business competitions be very popular between students in high school but I realized that there weren’t many for law, so finding out about the McIntyre Youth Leadership Challenge was something that I never expected. - How did you decide what topic(s) to focus on?
The topic that I decided on was low political efficacy and how that affects the population especially during voting on their representatives. It was in AP Government and Politics that I learned about this concept, and every chance that I got to speak about a topic it would always lead back to political efficacy. This was not just a topic for this competition but a project that I was building and growing for the country to use. I know how it feels to believe that your voice doesn’t matter and see people deciding that their vote doesn’t matter. - How much time did you spend researching your topic before deciding on the recommendation you gave to help address the problem?
I had been researching this topic since the summer before the competition. I would say that I spent a large amount of my time researching rather than anything else, but I would say that having a large amount of time to see how different people saw the issue, gave me new ideas. - How did you find people to talk to in your community about the problem?
For me, finding people to talk about in my community was a lot easier than I expected. I am in my local mayor’s internship program, where we talk about specific topics that happened locally and get insights from surveys that we had given to local homeowners. Through this program, I got to speak to many people, even with my town legislators, to see their insight on how this problem increases. - Who at your school did you turn to for advice and/or help?
I would say that many people didn’t know that I had signed up for this competition, but rather than from school, my family was a large part of why I applied and worked through the application process. I remember the day that I filmed my video. That same day I got told that my ideas were too basic by an advisor from school. I had come home crying. After fixing my makeup, I made sure that I finished filming my video, and putting my all into the video. My family were the ones that said that the video looked amazing and that my idea was worth talking about. - What are 2-3 things you did to set yourself up for success in this competition?
One thing I did to set myself up for success in this competition was making sure I knew what I was saying. Whether it was for the video or the speech in front of the judges, I never once tried to look at my sheet of paper because information orally goes across the strongest through hand movements, eye contact, and really feeling what you are saying. I also made sure that this was a project that I felt passionate about. I had a couple of ideas coming into the application process, but I made sure that even if my idea wasn’t the most known, it is something I felt so strongly about. - Which part of the Challenge did you enjoy the most?
The part of the challenge I enjoyed the post would definitely be the final selections. It was very amazing because I could enjoy seeing everyone else say their speech and see how passionate everyone was about their missions. Having my parents as support and seeing everyone being engaged while I gave my speech after winning was something that I will never forget.
— Vaishnavi Tummalapalli, MYLC Winner (2026)