Varshitha Korrapolu is the communications manager of The Sidekick. The Sidekick’s social media manager Aliya Zakir expresses how Korrapolu has influenced her time on staff.
Varshitha Korrapolu
D115 has held the weight of hundreds of staffers throughout the existence of The Sidekick. Along with these staffers come their emotions. Producing and publishing content daily can influence high school students both positively and negatively. And through the highest and lowest points of my time in the program, there has only been a singular aspect that remained constant. Not a what but rather a who, Varshitha Korrapolu, The Sidekick’s communications manager.
In the summer of 2021, after a year on staff, and a year of virtual Zoom meetings, I walked into D115 for the first time. Unfamiliar faces surrounded the room, faces including Varshitha. We were both eager to begin our leadership roles. I didn’t know much about this short senior who loved to wear a blue hoodie and colorful shirt with a positive message everyday, she seemed just like the rest. As I got to know her better, I recognized that whatever happened in the hours before 12 p.m. would be forgotten for the next two and a half hours of my day.
Although her title reads “communications manager,” the accurate title for her role on staff would be “the patient, respectful, observant and empathetic friend/therapist everyone wishes to have.” Her qualities don’t just extend to her caring demeanor, but also translate into the work she produces and the effort she puts into her responsibilities in The Sidekick, other extracurricular activities and classes.
Through her short but dedicated time in The Sidekick, the diversity of content Varshitha has produced constitutes the perseverance and labor she inputs through each piece she produces. Despite the absence of her physical presence, the qualities which altered how the program leads with example will be preserved.
To Varshitha, thank you for the opportunity to be alongside you through your journey in The Sidekick. Whichever path you take in the future, I have full confidence in stating that whoever gets a chance to be accompany you in the future will leave expressing the same bittersweet emotions.