This week’s leader of the week is National English Honor Society co-president senior Deetya Mudakala. As co-president, Mudakala has made an impact by streamlining processes and creating new opportunities for members. Their passion for English and dedication to the organization set an example that inspires members to follow suit. 

Q: What leadership position do you hold, and how long have you been in this role?

A: I am co-president of the National English Honor Society, and I’ve held this position since the start of the school year, so the start of my senior year.

Q: What inspired you to take on this leadership role?

A: I knew back last year, my junior year, that I wanted to hold an officer position in an honor society. I was in NEHS and NHS, and I felt I could make a better impact in NEHS because I’m passionate about English. I wanted to carry that forward, so I decided to apply for the officer role in NEHS.

Q: How would you describe your impact on your organization or team so far?

A: I’m a structured person, and I’ve brought that structure to my leadership in NEHS. I try to streamline everything and keep communication clear, which I think makes the process smooth for everyone. I also use my experience as a Writing Center tutor to help members and offer them opportunities. I like to ensure everything is cohesive and well-organized.

Q: What’s one moment from your leadership experience that stands out to you and why?

A: One moment that stands out is when I broke the news to one of our advisors, Mrs. Beasley, that we were able to successfully bring back the Writing Center. We recruited 25 tutors, which was more than the previous year. Seeing her reaction to this accomplishment was really fulfilling for me.

Q: Which leader—past or present—do you look up to and why?

A: I love to watch all sorts of leaders and how they kind of talk and handle things in the face of adversity. Recently, I was able to watch Kamala Harris’ speech after she lost the 2024 election and to see how she handled it with such grace and made it seem as if it was not an end but rather a beginning of what would be a challenging yet promising. I think of activists like Greta Thunberg or Malala and I like to watch how they handle different challenges with such grace. It’s definitely inspiring to me as a leader as well because I would like to hold that same sort of power in my speech when I’m helping and guiding others. Even if it’s not as significant as, you know, world peace or being the president of the United States, it’s still leadership at the end of the day and I hope to make a good impact with it.

Q: Do you have any rituals or habits that help you prepare for important responsibilities?

A: I would say my biggest habit, or ritual, will always be checking my Google Calendar at the start of the day. It holds every single assignment, every single task, appointment, and reminder that I have for everything in life, both academic and non-academic. It keeps me prepared and focused for things in life so that way I’m never unprepared or nothing ever catches me by surprise.

Q: Where do you see yourself in five years, and how do you think leadership will play a role in your future?

A: I hope five years from now, I will have graduated from wherever I did my undergrad degree and then my first year of medical school. I want to be a pediatric surgeon in the future. It’s a daunting task and goal in mind, but it’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. I hope that I’m able to take the leadership skills that I’ve gained through this role and then in some others by offering a guiding hand to others because I’ve always wanted to just leave an impact wherever I go. Hopefully, I’ll be in a good place wherever I am. That’s one thing. That’s honestly, at the end of the day, the most important thing. I hope I’m happy five years from now.

Q: What do you hope to accomplish before the end of your term?

A: I’m hoping that by the end of the year, we end up offering more hours than we did last year. I’m hoping because we have an extra advisor, and there are more of us who are presidents, that we can offer more opportunities, and more help to everyone. I definitely want to make NEHS just something that people really enjoy as an honor society.  I hope people genuinely enjoy the opportunities we have available. And when they look back on being in NEHS, they don’t think of it as just some other volunteer thing. They think of it as a space to really enjoy English and writing and just share a passion for the language and all that holds. 

You can catch Mudakala in action at the NEHS Valentine’s Candygram event during lunch through February 6-10, where they’ll help spread some love to the school community with member-written poetry.