Addyson Mahon is an ASU Walter Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Saguaro High School for AZPreps365.com 

On the golf course, Aashni Sahai is hyping up her team and is always there to get the team together. In the classroom, she is finishing her calculus problems before people even begin. Between robotics competitions and making it to state for the second year in a row, the Saguaro High School junior finds a way to be a leader for her team and ace her math classes. 

Sahai began playing golf in 2018, when she and her cousins decided to take golf lessons and fell in love with the sport. The team captain this year continues to be a leader and encourages her fellow teammates to love golf. 

“She is just everyone’s biggest cheerleader, and I do think that she enjoys this… It's been really fun to watch,” said assistant coach Haley McMackin.  

When she is not golfing, she is a straight-A student, balancing her class load as a junior and participating in robotics. 

“She’s the kid in class that the teacher makes the key from her test,” said coach Michael Fernandes. 

She is a part of Sabercats Robotics. Sahai has been a part of robotics since her freshman year of high school and has become a volunteer for Sisters of STEM, an organization that hosts events for students looking to branch out and have a love for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Sahai is a volunteer at Sisters of STEM, encouraging others to join as well. 

In 2024, Sahai was chosen as a finalist for the Dragon Kim Foundation for her project, which was a camp designed for middle schoolers who express an interest, centered around arts, engineering, and design. Sahai used her love of golf towards her project of creating a putt-putt course. 

During the state tournament this week, Sahai was required to take her PSAT; however, it occurred the same day that she was required to compete in the state tournament. She was able to get her testing day for the PSAT moved back, but this is a prime example of how Sahai is a student-athlete who continues to face challenges when it comes to being a golfer and a straight-A student. 

“I feel like with school, I try to be as productive as I can during the day, especially since I know I’m not gonna really be that productive after school,” said Sahai when asked how she juggles robotics, her classes, and golfing. 

“Grades have never been something that concerns me with Sahai. If anything, her running out of classes to take is a bigger concern,” said coach Fernandes 

With the program Sahai is currently enrolled in, she is able to graduate from high school with an MSA Diploma with Distinction. This requires her to do volunteer work, such as what she is doing with the Sisters in STEM program; she is required to do a research project, and she needs to take a certain number of classes. 

“She’ll probably graduate with the most possible credits that you can,” said coach Fernandes.