Suppose it's Saturday morning and you're craving a bag of Doritos. You waltz into Walmart in your PJs, expecting a quick trip, before freezing in your tracks at the sight of Revant in his trendy blue vest ringing up customers. That may sound strange — it's hard to imagine him working as a cashier, instead of, say, as a zombie actor in a haunted house, or as a professional pet food taster. The long hours at Walmart all go towards his table tennis tournament fund (as a nationally ranked player, tournament fees rack up quickly). Out of all his interests, table tennis is perhaps the one most flamed with passion.
“It’s really fun putting a lot of effort into something you care about,” explains Revant. “Beating top players and winning medals at nationals is pretty cool. Representing the US at the international stage is also, you know, pretty cool. You have to have respect for the racket, respect for the ball, respect for the opponent, respect for your coach, and most importantly, respect for yourself.”
When it comes to athletics, he has a certain drive that goes well beyond table tennis, encompassing basketball and running; and while he may not know it, the dedication he has for these sports has garnered admiration from many of his friends.
“Besides his personality, what I admire most is his dedication and tenacity,” said Ajay, a longtime friend and classmate. “I think he’s running a marathon this weekend, actually. He’s been training consistently for a long time, in hopes of qualifying for the Boston Marathon.”
Revant’s love for sports is perhaps rivaled only by his passion in fighting for gender equity. Fueled by his greatest inspiration, his grandmother, Revant has grown to love supporting his community.
“At 13 years old, when most kids would be playing around at school, my grandmother got married,” said Revant. “And then at 22, when people would be in school or in the early stage of their careers, she lost her husband. In India, widows aren’t allowed to remarry, so she had to raise two children and battle against social stigma without even a formal education.”
Revant channeled these motivations into his club: Generation Empowered, a student-led organization that works to raise awareness and enact change surrounding gender-equity issues. If you get lost during lunch, you may stumble into the classroom where he holds his meetings — you’ll be able to tell by the zoom meeting on the whiteboard, where a guest speaker is discussing their experiences being a woman in power. It's also hard to miss their colorful flyers plastered throughout the hallways advertising their new and improved schoolwide donut fundraiser (yum!). All the proceeds were designated for RiseUp, a gender equity initiative that provides training and funding to women looking to transform their communities.
These fundraisers are merely a step in the right direction. Revant’s larger goal is more ambitious: he hopes to study economics to help solve generational problems of poverty and homelessness.
“I saw this guy on Skid Row, a famous homeless area in LA, who said there were no dreams there. That really struck me,” he reflects. “The wealthy and homeless are so separated that we fail to see the other side and provide them with bare minimums like housing and education. It’s something we really need to work on, and a problem I’d love to help fix.”
If he’s not at club or work, you’ll certainly be able to find Revant in the band room. While not a “band kid” (in all aspects involving the stereotype), he is certainly a band kid, having taken band every year since fourth grade. Funnily enough, he even chose to take band in his senior year, the year when students are supposed to take two-trimester capstones instead of full-year classes. Eventually, the staff found out, and he was forced to drop the class. It’s moments like these where you aren’t quite sure if he signed up as a joke — but realize that beneath the humor, he simply enjoys music.
“Trombone is probably my greatest non-academic accomplishment — I’ve been playing for over seven years by now, and have been in some really awesome groups, such as the Mission Peak Quinn Symphony,” explains Revant. “It's cool to perform for people, and to be part of the creative process. Recently, I’ve also been experimenting with making my own music — mostly lofi and math rock.”
Revant’s passions span well beyond his evident love for music (remember his obsession with band?). He poured hours into his AP Chemistry final project, treating it as a passion project rather than a required assignment. To this day, he still has the chassis of the battery-powered car he built from scratch with his groupmates, and plans to add further renovations in the future.
“He was probably the one who put the most dedication into the chemistry project,” recalls Ajay. “By the end of the year, most people were burned out and slacking off, but he really cared. He pushed everyone in our group to create this really cool project from scratch, which I had a lot of fun helping with.”
Moving beyond everything — his aspirations, passions, activities — what jumps out the most is his unique personality. If there’s one thing that all of Revant’s friends agree on, it’s that Revant is always there to lighten the mood.
“As a friend, he’s really easy to talk to and is always there when you need him. He’s always making jokes, telling stories, moving the conversation along,” says Krish, a close friend. “He’s super nice and funny, and helps bring the mood up. It's much more lively when he’s around.”