The moment she uttered her first word, OPHS sophomore vocalist Ananya Hariharan was already singing.

“I started when I was three years old, so it’s been about nine years officially,” Hariharan said. “My mom had been singing for 10 years previously, and then my sister started learning, so I was somewhat forced into it at first. I do Indian classical music, and I’ve been learning that for a very, very long time. I’ve also done a lot of Western or American singing.”

With time, Hariharan’s views changed entirely.

“When I was younger, I used to do a ton of competitions for singing,” Hariharan said. 

“Then, I got to do my arangetram, or solo graduation performance, where I sang for three hours straight with six months of prep. That was the turning point, when I started to enjoy music a lot more.”

A skill of this caliber takes careful planning and heavy dedication.

“I try to practice an hour a day, because it’s said for Indian music that if you don’t practice every day then you’ll lose touch,” Hariharan said. “It’s [honestly] a big stress relief for me, so singing isn’t a chore.”

Along with being a way to de-stress, multiple factors have motivated Hariharan to keep pursuing her passion.

“I’ve been really interested in music since I was young,” Hariharan said. “I love singing class, I love working with my teacher on songs and I love teaching other kids.”

With time and commitment to her art, Hariharan has found widespread success.

“I’ve performed at the Civic Arts Plaza a few times, in Cleveland for this huge convention, in Pittsburgh and multiple times in India,” Hariharan said.

Hariharan’s advice for aspiring vocalists is simple.

“Just go for it. It doesn’t matter what type of singing it is. It’s practice that’s going to make you better. Once you get better, you’ll have even more fun with it. Just get started; you’ll figure out the rest.”

If sophomore Tanish Tummanapelly had 24 hours left to live, he would spend them outside.

“Nature is all around us, and we have trails everywhere in this area,” Tummanapelly said. “Not everyone in the world gets to say that, so I try to appreciate it as much as I can.”

Tummanapelly lives by this principle, carving the natural world into his routine through hiking.

“I hike about 25 miles a weekend,” Tummanapelly said. “The most I’ve hiked in one day is 27 miles, out in Cheseboro.”

Tummanapelly’s expeditions out into the wild began years ago, after spending time overseas.

“I went to India for two years, where there’s a lot of buildings and all, and the parts of it I went to were really secluded,” Tummanapelly said. “Coming back made me appreciate our surroundings a lot more. That’s what got me into hiking in the first place.”

He started an Instagram to document his travels and posts beautiful landscapre photography frequently. 

“I have an Instagram where I post about different places I’ve hiked at,” Tummanapelly said. “Posting on Instagram is like a game, trying to see how many views and followers I can get.”

Tummanapelly believes that hiking is an excellent way to stay grounded and de-stress. 

“If I was to say anything to anyone wanting to start hiking, it’s that it’s honestly simple,” Tummanapelly said. 

“Go outside, and get a group of friends to join you. I don’t get tired when I go outside to hike; it motivates me, if anything.”

Going with friends is an excellent way to make exercise fun.

“I started with one of my friends, and then soon it turned into two,” Tummanapelly said. “Then I asked more and more people, and more and more people were interested. Now it’s kind of become a thing; hiking has just become part of my life.”

OPHS junior Woman International Master Avery Yu’s chess journey began younger than when most students learn to count to 100.

“When I was in elementary school, my parents signed me up for a chess class at a summer camp,” Yu said. “I really liked it, so I started going to tournaments and competing. I wanted to keep improving, so I just kept playing.”

Yu’s drive to constantly improve was in part due to the people around her.

“I had a really good coach, and a group of people I was competing against in my age group,” Yu said. “When I went to tournaments, there would always be the same group of people. Everyone really liked to play, and my coach encouraged me to keep practicing.”

Generally, Yu believes that the community she has built has fostered her passion for chess.

“Chess is really fun, and if you find a group of people and share your passion, that could really help you stay passionate about it,” Yu said. “There’s a lot of resources online, and especially after the pandemic when chess became really popular, there’s a large community of people who love chess. You could even join a chess club or something similar; there’s lots of things you can do to pursue your passion, in anything really.”

Yu continues to compete out of a love for the game and for success.

“Chess is really interesting to me because every game is like a challenge, kind of like a puzzle you have to solve. It’s endless possibilities,” Yu said. “I also really like winning, and how it feels when I win. I don’t like to lose, so I keep playing to win more. I also do enjoy the game for itself, of course. I think it’s really interesting to explore.”

Fast forward to high school, and the Woman International Master has achieved international success.

“I went to Canada last year to play in the North American Junior Girls Chess Championships,” Yu said. 

“I did well in that tournament; I tied for first. I won the US Women’s Open in 2024, and I also went to the Pan Americans and World Youth.”

To make time for her passion while navigating high school, Yu manages her schedule carefully.

“I’m on the girls tennis team, and I play violin and piano in the orchestra,” Yu said. “I try to make time for all of it, along with school and the rest. I generally just try to manage my time and find time for the things that I enjoy despite having other stuff to do, because I think it’s really important not to neglect other aspects of your life. Obviously do well in school and all, but don’t focus just on those areas. It’s good to be well-rounded.”

To Yu, the first step to attaining mastery in any form is simply getting started.

“I think there’s a misconception about chess being boring or slow,” Yu said. “Although it’s now becoming more popular, I think that people shouldn’t be dissuaded by those assumptions or misconceptions. I think you’d be surprised at how many things you might actually enjoy doing if you try and put a little bit of time into it.”