Tears rolling down their faces, most students crack under the pressure of studying and participating in a multitude of clubs and classes. Whether working on homework or staying late after school for extracurriculars, many students find trouble in balancing their schedule; however, this is not the case for junior Aneesha Nookala.

Nookala strives to go above and beyond; to do so, she has taken advantage of most opportunities available to her to help all around the school. At Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Nookala has a large involvement on campus and holds pride in the programs she is a part of.

“I partake in as many activities as I can because I love getting involved within the school community,” Nookala said. “I also only partake in activities and clubs that I am genuinely interested in and excited about and/or feel will help me in the future.”

Nookala was born in Florida and has been in the Parkland/Coral Springs area since a young age. She has always been highly active in school, from serving as a member of DECA in the Middle Program at Westglades Middle School (the DECA program for middle school) to becoming the VP of School Activities for MSD DECA. Nookala has always seen opportunities as a chance to grow academically and as a person.

“I joined DECA freshman year because my dad was very insistent on me learning about finance. I decided to become more involved with DECA as a club officer because by the end of that year, I had made so many new friends and created a plethora of positive experiences from my time in the class,” Nookala said.

Nookala is also an officer in many clubs at MSD, serving as the Vice President of the Red Cross Club, junior VP for the Indian Students Association (ISA), Fundraising Committee Officer for the World Help Club, historian for Operation Smile–which is a DECA chapter project–and an active member of the National Honor Society (NHS). Although it is common for students to join clubs primarily to build their college resume, Nookala joins each club with the mindset of helping a certain community in need and making a change on the local scale.

“I chose to join the Red Cross, World Help, NHS, and Operation Smile because I am passionate about helping others and giving back to the community. I joined ISA because many of my friends joined and it is fun to talk about and celebrate different parts of Indian culture with all of them,” Nookala said.

Another large program Nookala takes part in at MSD is the annual multicultural dance, which is performed each year during the winter season to showcase different cultures from around the world. After formally participating in it during the 2021-2022 school year, Nookala has officially decided to turn her love of dance and her culture into an opportunity. Nookala choreographed the Indian dance for this year’s multicultural show.

“I choreographed for the multicultural dance because I have been dancing for most of my life and wanted to be able to share my love for dance and my culture with others. My co-choreographer, Devika [Vikas], and I both wanted to work together to create a dance that represented both a display of our culture and our love for dance,” Nookala said.

Nookala’s involvement extends beyond the MSD community; she also takes part in multiple programs off campus, like dance classes and volunteer opportunities. All while maintaining her grades and working in several programs, Nookala still finds time for the arts and helping out friends.

“Aneesha always helps out any friend in need with anything,” junior Nicholas Montenegro said. “I know Aneesha has helped me so much not just at school, but also out of school with studying and homework. She never does anything mediocre, it’s always to her full ability.”

Additionally, Nookala maintains a “work-life balance” and sets a schedule for herself to complete tasks on time. She allocates time for activities she enjoys while serving others throughout the community.

“Outside of school, I sing, paint, dance bharatanatyam–which is a form of Indian cultural dance–and participate in occasional bollywood performances. I love participating in the arts, which is why I do a variety of activities that allow me to express my creativity,” Nookala said.

Nookala has taken a multitude of opportunities available to her as a junior and is excited to continue making an impact at MSD in her upcoming senior year. She plans on keeping her officer positions and even possibly becoming president of a few. In the future, she hopes to join the medical field but she is unsure as to which job she wants as of now.