Cornwall College’s Arnav is science whiz
Published:Wednesday | December 14, 2022 | 1:24 AMJanet Silvera/Senior Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Eighteen-year-old Arnav Muppuri is making academic waves in the sciences on the CAPE Unit 1 ladder, placing first in physics, third in chemistry and biology, and fourth in pure mathematics nationally.
The Cornwall College student also placed fifth in the Caribbean in physics, while proudly sharing the third in chemistry with his friend and schoolmate, Nathan Jarrett.
No stranger to academic excellence since he stepped on to the corridors of the Montego Bay all-boys' school, Arnav showed his prowess, copping three of the four major midterm trophies in his first five months.
He credits his scholastic success for his tendency to not procrastinate.
“As soon as I get something, I try to finish it off,” Arnav said in a Gleaner interview.
He admitted that he does not work outside of class time, preferring to play video games and go out with friends.
The 12th-grade senior prefect supervisor says he generally pays attention in class, but sometimes loses focus and spends time having fun with his friends. He was quick to point out that he is not a role-model student.
“If someone else was to follow my habits, they wouldn't do very well, because I don't manage my time. I don't have a timetable. I don't plan out my day or anything. I do whichever one or I just do them as they come, and the only thing that helps me is that I don't procrastinate,” he said.
The teenager takes every opportunity he gets to play football or tennis. He is also significantly involved as a leader in clubs and societies at the institution. Arnav also finds time to pull his friends up academically.
“I help my friends who are grades below me with assignments, test preparation, by explaining the concepts,” he told The Gleaner.
Arnav is the Sixth-Form Association president, senior supervisory prefect, president of the Spanish Club, vice-president of the 4-H Club, secretary of Key Club International, assistant treasurer of the Science Environmental Energy Club, and president of Chess Club.
Earlier this year, when Cornwall College inaugurated a homework club for struggling students, he and his friends taught classes in the afternoons. He was, however, forced to withdraw temporarily from the centre owing to the length of time it takes to complete college applications and the essays that accompany them.
The 18-year-old high achiever, whose father Guna Muppuri is a medical doctor and whose sister just entered the medical field, says he wants to be an orthopaedic surgeon specialising in sport injuries.
Watching her son's growth from Mt Alvernia Preparatory to the day he received news he had passed for Campion College, Vishnu Muppuri says every mother should have an Arnav.
“He is very disciplined, sincere, and obedient. He is humble and determined that he is not going forward alone; he is taking his friends along. He pushes them,” Mrs Muppuri told The Gleaner.
The mother of two said her son promised he would deliver the high marks she and his father demanded as a trade-off for his desire to attend Cornwall College in his hometown.
She said she was in tears when she saw him win many awards during his first term in grade seven.
Not only did Arnav want to go home to his dad every night, but all his prep-school classmates, except for one, had passed for Cornwall College.
Vishnu Muppuri says she could not have asked for a more caring and composed child, who doesn't raise his voice, fight, or show disrespect.