Senior Adeesh Mishra currently holds the No. 4 position in the Poplar Bluff High School Class of 2018 and said he's earned a top spot by challenging himself year after year. "Throughout high school, I took harder classes," said Mishra, who is the son of Babita Patnaik and Subrat Mishra. "When I was a junior, instead of just taking AP (Advanced Placement) chem, I took AP Physics, as well. I've always tried to push myself with the classes I take."
The 18-year-old said for his senior year, he chose to forego elective classes, which many students opt for as a break from their rigorous schedules. Electives include the arts, physical education, and music.
"I've just been trying to push myself and challenge myself because I'm interested in medicine," Mishra said.
"In the medical field, I'm going to have to face the same challenges. Regardless of whether or not my rank goes up or down, I'm going to have to face those challenges in medical school and I wanted to prepare myself to get into a school like that."
Mishra said he has been accepted to Saint Louis University and the University of Missouri -- Columbia. However, he hasn't yet decided on a school, as he is waiting to receive more admissions decisions slated for release in April.
"I do a lot of extracurricular activities," he said. "This year I came back to play basketball... I'm on the tennis team and I've been varsity for the last two years. I'm president of too many clubs. Most of my life is school life."
Mishra said a profound experience at a women's clinic helped him decide to tailor his future career in medicine to focus on obstetrics and gynecology.
"... I got to hold a placenta, which is kind of disgusting, but it was also really cool," he said. "When I was there, I saw a screen and asked the nurse what the lines up and down were and she said it was contractions.
"That's when it hit me, like, 'Wow, I'm literally watching someone being born and they could be the next President of the United States. They could be the next Lebron James. You never know who you're going to give birth to and I just think that's really unique.'"