Senior Sahithi Pogula has spent the past four years immersed in BPA (Business Professionals of America) and scientific research.

“I’ve spent the best four years on BPA,” Pogula said.

As the Massachusetts State President (March 2022 – March 2023) and Hopkinton Chapter President (March 2022 – present), Pogula has been responsible for planning out the logistics behind the conferences, scheduling webinars, gathering materials for the members, and organizing general fundraising for scholarships.

Through BPA, Pogula has received numerous state-level awards for various events. This includes 1st place for Health Administration, 1st place for Global Marketing, 1st place for Business Law and Ethics, and 2nd place for Entrepreneurship. On top of all of these feats, she placed 5th internationally for Entrepreneurship.

Her favorite memory of BPA comes from last May, at the 2022 National Leadership Conference. The members of Hopkinton’s BPA chapter traveled to Dallas, TX to compete and communicate with individuals from all over the country.

“It was a really good way to connect with the Hopkinton Chapter while also meeting others,” she recalled.

At the most recent Massachusetts State Leadership Conference, which was held on March 4th, Pogula demonstrated her continued high achievement.

At SLC, Pogula competed in Global Marketing and Health Administration. She also led a teamwork and communication workshop with Alveena Ehsan, Massachusetts State Secretary (March 2022 – March 2023).

Though she was not the sole standout at SLC.

“We are sending 20 Hopkinton members to qualify for nationals,” Pogula said.

From her BPA experiences, Pogula left with many important lessons.

“It’s important to network with influential people. [To] try out new things, and not be afraid to talk to new people.”

Pogula’s science fair projects are also a major part of her life. She researches cancer genetics through machine learning algorithms. This year, she studied liver cancer using epigenomics.

“I coded a computer algorithm to predict what specific gene is causing the liver cancer,” Pogula said.

For science fair, Pogula placed 1st at the Worcester Regional Fair (2019), 1st in the state and received the Foundation Medicine Award (2021), and 2nd overall in Hopkinton (2022).

Just recently, on March 2nd, Pogula qualified for the Worcester Regional Fair again.

Her research journey is one of persistence.

“Sometimes, things don’t seem right at the moment, but it always works out in the end, ” Pogula said.

With all her experience in business and science, Pogula plans on receiving an MBA and an MD. She aspires to embark on “a future career in the biotechnology business.”