Meet Chakravarthy Sunkara | High School Assistant Headmaster

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chakravarthy Sunkara and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chakravarthy, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
As an educator I am committed to promoting the quality education required for a child’s development, considering the nature of my career I have always kept going, I do not have an option to give up because I am responsible to give all the tools to my students that are required to succeed in life. I believe even if someone has had 99 failures from 99 attempts their 100th attempt could give them that success they were looking for, so giving up should not be an option for anyone in my opinion.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I started my career as a teacher in the USA 13 years ago in 2009 at a middle school in SanLuis, AZ. When I first started my career as a teacher I had to face a culture shock as the education system in India is very different from what we have in the USA. My mentors Richard West and Linda Coronado played a very important role in making me understand the culture of education in the USA. Once I understood the culture I focussed on developing positive relationships with my own students because I believed that only with positive relations with our students you can make a difference in their life. Apart from teaching Math to my students, I have volunteered to coach my students in solving Rubik’s cubes in order to keep myself involved with the student community, and for that, I spent 3 weeks learning to solve the Rubik’s cube before I can teach my students. Fast forward to 3 months, my team won 2nd place in the state competition, and the following year we won first place in the state Rubik’s cube competition.

In 2013, I moved to Phoenix to work with Riverside Elementary School District as a middle school teacher, in Phoenix Sunil Gilla helped me understand the cultural difference between the students in a small town like San Luis and a big city like Phoenix. In Phoenix, I worked as a Math teacher and volunteered to be Student Council Advisor. After a very successful 3 years with Kings Ridge School in the district, I was hired as a High School math teacher at Maricopa Insitute of Technology (MIT), thanks to the encouragement given by our district leadership team. At MIT I taught ELA and Math as I have a master’s Degree in English and Math and I am highly certified to teach those subjects. It was not easy teaching two core subjects but my commitment to my students did not wavier and I kept going with a goal of making my students’ lives better. At MIT I introduced Student Council and sports program, as I always liked to be involved with the student community, thanks to the support given by the administration at MIT.

As a student council advisor, I have introduced several community projects to teach my students the pleasure of giving back to the community and these endeavors have put our school on the map as we were recognized by the Arizona Student Council association at a state convention, this recognization gave our students a great platform to further their leadership qualities in the colleges they were accepted to. At MIT I have expanded the sports program in association with Canyon Athletic Association and I have recently been awarded as the best Athletic Director of the year.

After being associated with MIT for 6 years, juggling multiple roles, I believed I am ready to take on the leadership role. After a rigorous interview process, I have been selected to work as an Assistant Headmaster of student affairs. I will be working under the leadership of Katie Cox from whom I am learning a lot about the administration role.

All through my career my wife Archana Sunkara and my parents have pushed me to the limits and made me believe in myself. My wife supported me even when I was working long hours with the student council and sports program she kept encouraging me to help the student community and do my best in whatever I do.

Finally, I would like to thank each and every one that is involved in shaping my successful career because I believe success with teamwork.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take my best friend to the coolest resorts in Scottsdale spend some time at a resort and take my friend to taste a wide variety of food restaurants in downtown phoenix. I will also take my friend on a drive to Sedona because I feel it is one of the most picturesque drives I have seen. Show Low is another place I will take my friend to spend a day or two.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My wife Archana Sunkara played a crucial role in my career, she was part of some tough decisions I had to make to achieve my success. She took my success as her success, so I would like to give a shoutout to my wife.

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