A robotics whiz, a star soccer player, a multi-instrument musician, and now, a future MIT athlete and graduate. Yash Prabhu is at the forefront of North Penn, and it all started on a family trip to India. 

Yash Prabhu, a senior at North Penn High School, was just admitted into MIT’s class of 2027! His life has been filled with numerous successes, whether it be winning science scholarships, having a research paper published, or having the opportunity to play for high-level soccer teams. But where did it all come from?

The answer is in his ancestry. Prabhu’s family immigrated from India to the states before he was born, and his numerous trips to India as a child were the motivation behind his winner’s mentality.

“When I was growing up I spent a lot of my summers in India because my parents wanted to move back there. Seeing the poverty and pain that we lived in, I learned to develop a fighting spirit and felt even more grateful for every opportunity I got. I think this is what instilled a drive in me that has helped me succeed,” Prabhu stated. 

It was this very inspiration that led Prabhu to become one of North Penn’s brightest. Even as a young child, his drive was unlike any other. 

I had the pleasure of playing travel soccer alongside Yash for many years, and one specific moment I remember was the day he joined the team. He was painfully mediocre in his first year, with a terrible touch, a slower sprint speed, and a wild shot. He had a passion for the sport, but that’s all there was. Then, one summer, when we all returned for the first practice, he had completely transformed himself. Within 2 years, he had become the best player on the team. Ever since then, Prabhu has fully committed himself to the sport and has now managed to land himself a spot on MIT’s squad. 

“I will be taking my talents to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where I will play D3 soccer under coach Ken Bovell. I am really excited and can’t wait to step on the field for another four years”, Prabhu announced a few days ago.

As for his career aspirations, the sky is the limit for Prabhu. With a strong inclination towards STEM topics, Prabhu plans to imbed himself in the future of Computer Science. 

“I plan to study Artificial Intelligence and Decision Making, a subfield of Computer Science, at MIT for four years,” Prabhu stated.

“I hope that along the way I can intern at some of the largest software companies and that I can find myself involved in a startup project sometime by the end of my college career,” Prabhu elaborated.

Don’t be surprised if you see his company on the Nasdaq one day! With his natural genius, his incredible mental fortitude formed by his Indian roots, and his passion for the field that will lead our society into the future, he has cooked up a recipe for success.

When given the chance to sit down with a student like Yash, one can’t help but ask for some advice. And so I did. When asked about what made him different from everyone else, he gave advice that every student should listen to.

“I wouldn’t say I am more or less successful compared to anyone else, but if there was one thing in my mentality that helped me get where I am it was to embrace the boring things. Whether it be practicing the same skill for hours, moving up one tick on a metronome every five minutes, or doing more and more math problems from my textbook, I always knew that if I wanted to be good at something I had to embrace every part of the process, not just the exciting things,” Prabhu said.