The Best and The Brightest of 2024
Samhith
Padala
Age 18
Senior
University High School
Phoenix
Samhith has been a Junior Achievement of
Arizona student since Kindergarten and credits their programming for teaching
him many basic business, entrepreneurial and financial principles from a young
age. He started his own photography
business at age 12! What started as a passion has grown into an international
company with over 130 content creators across more than 30 countries.
Sync Visual Media had six employees prior to
the pandemic and when the world shut down, he had to find innovative ways to
continue doing business. Without any in-person weddings or events, Samhith
decided to begin offering services such as live streaming, graphic design,
videography and web design. Today, it’s a multimedia company, with clients all
over the world. He oversees day-to-day
operations and has expanded to India and the United Kingdom.
He tells young entrepreneurs, “Don’t hold
back, just because of your age. Time is very valuable and you have to go after
what you want to achieve. It’s also important to find mentors to help guide you
in the right direction.”
As if running his own business isn’t enough,
Samhith is also ranked the highest in the class and is involved in DECA, FBLA
and the Phoenix Tee Party nonprofit. He’s also on a 10-member student advisory
board for the Arizona Board of Education. He also partnered with the Lions Club
and launched the “Lens for Lens Program,” a way to reflect on the impact
they’ve made in the world through Sync Visual Media. To date, Sync Visual Media
has been able to donate more than 2,000 glasses and over 7,000 hours in direct
services to those in need.