ESS Region 17: Sunjay Guttikonda
September 7, 2020
Editor’s note: ACSA’s video series profiling the winners of the Every Student Succeeding awards program was impacted by COVID-19 shelter-in-place restrictions. Each week, EdCal will feature Q&A interviews with all 19 winners from each ACSA region. In addition, there will be video stories of the students whose footage was completed before the pandemic. Watch for these videos to premiere on ACSA’s
YouTube channel
and ACSA’s
Facebook page
this fall. 
Grade: 12 School: Los Alamito High School District: Los Alamitos USD ACSA region: 17 Sunjay Guttikonda personifies strength, resilience and courage. Diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age 3, Sunjay never had the ease of movement of his peers, struggling with balance and motor skills as well as speech and learning difficulties. But from his first year in elementary school, Sunjay never stopped trying, learning or growing.  While other students were playing sports or video games, Sunjay endured eight grueling hours of physical therapy every week and worked to achieve basic competency in school. In middle school, he suffered from pains in his knees that required six corrective surgeries.  Sunjay began using an electric scooter to navigate the campus in ninth grade, yet chose not to use any of the IEP facilities except for taking extra time for completing assignments and tests. With immense personal fortitude, he started to walk with braces in the 11th grade, and has never looked back.  Through it all, Sunjay remained committed to both his coursework and his community, earning more than a 4.0 GPA in high school, taking AP courses and looking to a career in STEM while also volunteering through the California Scholarship Federation. Sunjay never once hesitated in the face of obstacles, choosing to always try, to constantly work harder, and to never give up.  What are your hobbies and interests? My favorite subjects in school are math and computer science. My favorite hobby is hiking. I also like to watch airplanes land and take off at the local airports. My favorite sports are swimming and diving. I cannot dive well due to physical limitations, but I enjoy it! I have been swimming since I was 3 years old.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve overcome to get where you are today? The biggest challenge I faced happened during the summer break between eighth and ninth grades (i.e., the summer before joining high school). I suddenly developed incredible pains in both my knees that radiated up and down my legs when I tried to walk. Every step I took was so agonizing. I could not swim either. I became extremely sad and depressed that I will lose the ability to walk and swim the rest of my life without pain. Fortunately, after medical tests it was diagnosed that I was suffering from patellofemoral pains due to misalignment of bones in my legs. Bilateral multiple surgical procedures and subsequent grueling rehabilitation gave me the ability to walk again pain free and I started to walk the campus by 11th grade. All these efforts took three years for me to reach the stage I am at today. Now, I am able to walk like I did before I experienced the pains in my legs four years ago. All the while, I was focusing on my studies in school, which proved to be a difficult balancing act. Nonetheless, I got good grades throughout high school.  What educator helped you along the way and how did they help you? During my elementary school years, my fifth grade teacher, Mr. Dean Arnold, helped me by lifting my spirits and making me more energetic after facing speech and learning difficulties at the time. His positivity and encouragement helped me to get on the same level of intellect as my peers. In high school, I have to mention my counselor, Mrs. Christy Ricks, and my English teacher during 10th and 11th grades, Mrs. Andrea Parsons, who helped me the most. Their constant encouragement and guidance enabled me to achieve whatever I did in high school.  I would like to also mention Mr. Kenneth Lopour, our Vice Principal (Student Support and Counseling), for knowing me and nominating me for this award and writing my story to the ACSA committee in a very eloquent manner. Lastly, I would like to mention Mr. Chris Vlasic, our principal, who always inquired about how I was doing and encouraged me with a pat on the back.  What advice would you have for students facing similar situations? For students facing similar situations, my advice would be to keep a positive frame of mind always. I agree it is not easy to do that all the time. What helped me achieve positivity is to seek out people with empathy both within my family and at the various schools I attended. Coupled with a positive frame of mind, hard work and perseverance are the two key traits that will help the most. Lastly, taking one day at a time and focusing on what needs to be done will work wonders. What does it mean to win this award? It will further boost my confidence in both my physical and mental abilities as I go forward in my life. Trepidation is a big thing I have experienced all through my life which sometimes led to unpleasant side effects during stressful situations like big exams. My life, my struggles, and my successes can be a lesson and/or source of inspiration to other students facing similar difficulties. I believe winning the award also puts a great responsibility on me. It will give me additional inspiration and impetus to mentor and/or guide others in similar situations the rest of my life. It will also help other handicapped students to take me and my advice seriously.
Every Student Succeeding winners overcome the odds
ESS Region 17: Sunjay Guttikonda.
ESS Region 17: Sunjay Guttikonda.
ESS Region 17: Sunjay Guttikonda
ESS Region 17: Sunjay Guttikonda
Physical therapy at age 6.
Physical therapy at age 6.
Physical therapy at age 6.
Physical therapy at age 6.
ESS Region 17: Sunjay Guttikonda post-surgery.
ESS Region 17: Sunjay Guttikonda post-surgery.
ESS Region 17: Sunjay Guttikonda post-surgery.
ESS Region 17: Sunjay Guttikonda post-surgery.
ESS Region 17: Sunjay Guttikonda post-surgery.
ESS Region 17: Sunjay Guttikonda post-surgery.
ESS Region 17: Sunjay Guttikonda.
ESS Region 17: Sunjay Guttikonda.
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