National Merit Semifinalist/Black Belt Gives Back

Scottsdale Prep senior, Sumedh Seetharam, was recently featured as one of the 10 Great Hearts seniors to be recognized as National Merit Semifinalists. But Seetharam was also recognized over the summer by ABC 15 and the Scottsdale Progress for giving 130 kids ages 7-12 free karate lessons with the help of the Dragon Kim Foundation, which enables teens to develop and implement mentorship and training programs.

Seetharam has taken karate lessons for 13 years and has earned his black belt. He is grateful that his parents were able to afford his karate lessons through the years and the program he started, called Empower Karate, was his way to give back to the community and share the lessons he has learned through the years in martial arts.

“The average cost of a martial arts class right now ranges from about thirteen hundred dollars a year all the way up to fifteen hundred,” said Seetharam. “Providing a weeklong martial arts course can bypass those cost and proximity barriers.”

“Sumedh is a young man who honestly and enthusiastically buys into our school’s mission of pursuing what is True, Good, and Beautiful,” said Gabe Duttlinger, Seetharam’s math teacher. “Seeing his hunger for knowledge and relentlessly positive disposition every day, I’m not even surprised by his generous contributions to our community. We’re very proud of how he takes obvious pleasure in learning and then spreads the joy by teaching others.”

He offered week-long morning classes across the valley throughout the summer. At his classes, he divided kids into different age groups for his courses. He then worked with parents to act as co-instructors, helping him teach the young students basic forms, establishing the dynamics of healthy team-based competition and putting students into simulated leadership roles.

Seethraram had hoped to continue the classes through the school year on weekends, but due to school and extracurricular demands, he has had to pause the karate instruction for the time being. But the seed he planted with the kids that he helped to master the core values of martial arts will hopefully ignite a life-long passion and discipline that they will continue to pursue.

After graduation, he plans to study biomedical engineering to pursue a career in the pharmaceutical industry. He would like to work in the research and development field for drug delivery technology. And he will no doubt continue his generosity in giving back to whichever community he lands.

You can watch full story from ABC15 at https://www.abc15.com/news/uplifting-arizona/teen-hosts-free-martial-arts-classes-during-summer-break

You can read the full article from Scottsdale Progress at https://www.scottsdale.org/neighbors/grateful-scottsdale-teen-teaches-karate-for-free/article_54402450-228a-11ee-a6e3-b361cbf438d0.html.

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