Senior Spotlight Shefali Joshi

Niwot High School senior Shefali Joshi thrives at the crossroads of creativity and innovation. One of her proudest high school achievements is pursuing an IB diploma. She said, "I'm really proud of how I stuck through the IB program even though it was hard at times. I really enjoyed the classes that were offered, even though there was a lot of extra work that goes into them."

One such extra project is the Creativity, Art, and Service (CAS) project all IB diploma candidates are required to complete. Joshi is excited to have recently completed her CAS project, where she created a series of paintings with the goal to sell them to raise money for wild fire restoration in the Boulder County area.

Through her projects like CAS, independent projects, and her school courses, Joshi has loved getting to experiment with different art mediums. "I got a lot more practice with the different techniques and different types of paints like watercolor, gouache, and acrylic," she said. "I have also never worked with clay before high school, so I got to learn how to work with 3D mediums, which has been fun."

Her favorite project was three tiles inspired by the Chinese folktale "The Legend of the White Serpent," where the three tiles connect to ultimately tell the story of the folktale. She also worked on a teapot and tea cup set inspired by calla lilies, which will be on display at the April Art Show.

Outside of school, Joshi keeps busy as a member of the Niwot girls swim team, the 1619 Up-A-Creek Robotics team, and as an IoT Designer at The Innovation Center of St. Vrain Valley Schools.

On Team 1619, Joshi was selected as the safety captain and is an active member of the fabrication team. She fabricates parts out of materials such as aluminum and polycarbonate using machines, including the Atrump machine, lathe, and mills. Joshi says that her experience on the team, especially on fabrication, has helped her learn more about physics and other STEM applications in art and architecture, which she believes will help her with her future goals.

Despite her busy schedule, Joshi still finds time to give back. As a volunteer with the Left Hand Outdoor Challenge (LHOC) Group, she helps with outdoor restoration projects. This year, she also volunteered as FIRST Lego League mentor where she guided a team of elementary school students through the process of building and programming a robot.

In the future, she hopes to pursue a degree and career in architecture because it allows her to combine her love for art with her STEM background. She said that the physics, math, and art classes she's taken at Niwot High School have helped prepare her for this career path. Joshi also plans to earn a master's degree in art or history.

Looking back on her high school career, Joshi is proud of how far she has come in developing not only her skills in art and fabrication, but also her skills in becoming more outgoing. She's looking forward to her new post-high school adventures.