Sara Pedapati

About Me

Hi! My name is Sara Pedapati, from the Class of 2028 at Emerald High School.

You can typically find me in the middle of a heated competitive or even informal policy debate, taking a photo of some random thing I ‘love the color contrast of,’ or in a Competitive U.S. History round. Beyond my three major passions, I am also a big animal lover, an avid recipe experimenter, and a gigantic classic comic nerd (My big three are Peanuts, Calvin & Hobbes, and Breaking Cat News).”

I have always harbored a deep love for history and literature. I’ve been an avid reader since first grade, back when my favorite book was Ladybug Girl. This only cultivated my love for history, the ‘stories of the past’, something already nurtured by countless father-daughter museum trips and documentaries. This unique combination, paired with my curiosity, allowed me to explore the world with a new and distinct perspective from a very young age. What I saw, coupled with other factors such as my passion for debate, eventually led me to my love of policies and the political world.

academic decathlon — As the Co-Founder, Co-President, and Team Captain of Emerald Academic Decathlon I led my team to 4 golds, 3 silvers, and 4 bronzes at Bay Area Regionals

us history bee — Qualified to the National U.S. History Bee 2025 and 2026 in Washington D.C.

nsda — As a Varsity Public Forum and Junior Varsity Policy Debater, I thoroughly researched and debated policy-specific topics. I qualified to quarterfinals in a national-level junior varsity policy debate tournament.

emerald summit '26 civicverse — Co-Designed and Co-led CivicVerse track of the Emerald Summit '26 with 200+ overall participants in coordination with the Emerald Academic Foundation 501(c)(3) nonprofit

As a Campaign and Event Volunteer for Sherry Hu, Mayor of Dublin I conducted personal voter engagement and door-to-door canvassing. I also spearheaded events to raise awareness for community needs.