My name is Shivani Kotikalapudi and I am currently a rising senior at Marvin Ridge High School.

I grew up in Stamford, Connecticut before moving to Waxhaw, North Carolina. I am a member of the tennis team at Marvin Ridge and love to spend my free time traveling (My favorite place I have traveled to is India), listening to music, and exploring Uptown Charlotte!

I have always had a great passion for environmental justice and promoting sustainable practices in my community. Interning with Sustain Charlotte has been such a great opportunity since they engage and empower the Charlotte community to help address the numerous sustainability challenges we face. I have had the chance to learn about the issues that impact us locally and what I can help to solve them. I hope my future career would allow me to combine this passion for the environment with business to have a larger platform and help advocate for better environmental practices.

My responsibilities this summer include helping with the Build a Better City Campaign and attending events on behalf of Sustain Charlotte. I am also learning about advocating for smart land use and transportation choices! I hope to use my experience from interning at Sustain Charlotte to educate my peers on the actions they can take to be more sustainable.