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shiv kapoor Credit: Melanie Lei

Unlike most freshmen he knows, Shiv Kapoor — a Wharton freshman from New Delhi — was not nervous for his first midterm last Thursday.

He prepared for the Mathematics 103 exam by studying for an hour a day for three days before the actual test.

“A certain amount [of work] every day is important,” said Kapoor. “I haven’t had a day when I don’t have work to do.”

His philosophy on work, and life in general, is to take everything one piece at a time and, in order not to get too overwhelmed, to avoid procrastination at all costs.

Besides his classes, Kapoor has been involved with PenNaatak, a theatre group on campus. Naatak is Hindi for “dramatics.”

The group will put on a major production of 1-888-Dial-India, a play written by Anuvab Pal, an Indian playwright.

Rather than performing in the traditional manner, in which one person enacts each role, the members of PenNaatak will each perform multiple roles in order to “enrich” the experience.

Kapoor previously acted in plays in high school, and the dramatic arts are a self-professed passion of his.

“I’m most comfortable on stage,” said Kapoor. “I don’t think there’s a better feeling than being on stage.”

Additionally, he believes that performing creates a mutually beneficial relationship between the actor and the university, for each gives to the other — the actor by performing, and the university by giving the opportunity to perform.

Kapoor’s other major passion of late is his Management 100 project, which focuses on raising awareness about illiteracy.

He and the other members of his group will be staging an event to combat illiteracy in Philadelphia. The group appointed him as head of communications. As such, he spends a lot of time contacting the Center for Literacy in Philadelphia.

“It’s a lot of e-mails back and forth every day,” he said.

Kapoor said because he feels a personal connection to both dramatics and his Management project, they command the majority of his time and attention.

At the same time, however, Kapoor must stay on top of his class work, which includes a lot of reading for his writing seminar on Lolita, as well as socializing, relaxing and getting to know Philadelphia.

Kapoor admitted to only getting around three or three-and-a-half hours of sleep per night.

“Little secrets to living without sleep are A) lots of coffee and B) enjoy what you do when you’re awake,” he recommended. As long as you enjoy what you’re doing, he explained, “There’s no way to feel bad.”

He elaborated that the previous day, he had been awake from 9 a.m. to 4 a.m., doing a variety of activities including studying, rehearsing for his play and meeting with a professor.

“I was on my feet the whole day,” he said, “But when I got back … I felt satisfied.”

While his weekdays are very regimented, Kapoor’s weekends are a time to relax and catch up with odds and ends that have escaped him during the week.

Besides the menial tasks like cleaning his room, he uses this time to explore the city and catch up with friends and family back home.

He has friends all over the world, ranging from the United States and the United Kingdom to Singapore and India. He said each one’s experiences seem different from the next.

“A lot of my friends outside may be unhappy with their classes or don’t get that much exposure [to cutting edge technology and a variety of speakers],” said Kapoor. “I’m blessed to be at a place that gives me so much access to the larger world. When I tell them about the kinds of experiences I have, you can definitely see the envy.”

Kapoor catches up with his friends primarily on the weekends, but makes it a point to talk to his family for at least ten minutes every day.

“More than homesick, I’m just enjoying the experience so much,” he said. “Maybe later I’ll start missing home more.”

Because getting to know a variety of people is very important to Kapoor, he is in touch with many different groups of students.

He knows and is very close with many of the Indian students at Penn because of contact before and during the year, as well as his fellow participants in PENNacle, PenNaatak and his Management 100 group. Additionally, he socializes with people in his hall and around the Quadrangle.

“I really, really like the diverse personalities we have,” said Kapoor. “That was one of the reasons why I’m so keen on Penn, I know everybody here loves making friends and talking to people.”

When asked whether he feels competitive with his fellow students, Kapoor shook his head and replied, “I know kids who are super competitive—I choose not to be that way. I’m only super competitive with myself.”

He said he feels it is important to do the best you can individually, but to feel no animosity towards others in an academic environment.

“We’re all too grown up for that,” he explained.

Between all his scheduled and unscheduled activities, Kapoor admitted that the time runs together.

“It’s just been a blur,” he explained. “The most beautiful tornado you could ever get in contact with.”

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