CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — This week’s High School Scholar comes to us from Chapel Hill. Senior Srinath Iyer does just about everything there is to do at Chapel Hill High School.

“I love to build, I love to use my hands, love to solve problems,” said Iyer as he and the robotics team prepare for an upcoming competition.

Iyer, the team’s vice president, has spent his entire high school career doing just that.

That means being a leader for the club, and someone others can look up to and get help with their questions.

The senior, ranked 3rd in his class with a 1550 SAT score and 4.7 GPA, is headed to Duke in the fall.

“I will hopefully be a mechanical engineer in the next four years. My life goal is to solve problems,” said Iyer.

Today’s problem isn’t a world one, but it’s still concerning for this robotics group.

Their robot, which weighs more than 100 lbs, isn’t moving and there’s only a few days to go before their competition.

“Ninety-percent of the time it’s banging your head on the wall cause stuff doesn’t work,” said Iyer.

Fortunately, the team posted a video of their robot functioning at its best.

The hope is to win regionals, then state, then compete on a global stage.

“It would mean a ton to me. I’ve put in a lot of time, a lot of effort,” said Iyer.

The accolades show he puts that passion into everything he does.

Iyer is also a member of the National Honor Society and tutors younger students in math, science and Spanish.

Beyond robotics and academics, he’s performed at hundreds of events as a South Indian vocalist. 

“Academics is part of being a scholar, and also about finding passion outside school,” said Iyer.

North Carolina Rep. Allen Buansi presented Iyer with a $1,000 scholarship from Spectrum Networks. 

Buansi said students like Iyer, the future engineers of the world, are desperately needed right now. 

“We need Srinath, we need him bad. We’ve got a lot of, we’ve got a lot of things going on in this world, we’ve got folks who are looking for housing, ways to make their lives better and the kinds of things Srinath has done developing tools to make life better for those around him, that’s what we need more of,” said Buansi.

Iyer said he will use the funds to help him settle in during his upcoming freshman year at Duke University.