Centennial student celebrates two prestigious wins in as many days

Jan. 30—Vaishvi Joshi, a Centennial High School senior, experienced an eventful and celebratory weekend as she was a key part of two prestigious victories.

Joshi served as CEO of Centennial's top business plan team at the Virtual Enterprise California State Conference & Exhibition on Friday at Mechanics Bank Arena. With Centennial, the team captain also won the Kern County Mock Trials on Saturday at Kern County Superior Court.

Liberty, Garces Memorial, Stockdale and Highland's B team rounded out the top five. Centennial has won the Kern County Mock Trials four straight times, 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023. It was canceled in 2021 due to COVID restrictions.

Maintaining a hectic schedule, including balancing time and passion for both teams, helped make the wins rewarding for Joshi because the hard work paid off, she said.

In March, Joshi and Centennial are now set to compete in Los Angeles in the California Mock Trial. With VE she'll travel to New York to compete in the national event in April.

Joshi, who carries a 4.5 grade-point average, is also on the executive board for Centennial's Associated Student Body, and she is co-president of the National Honor Society chapter at the school.

She said when she took on both positions as CEO for Centennial's business plan team and captain of the mock trial team, many people cautioned her to make sure she was not taking on too much.

"The one thing I told myself is that if I put my mind to it I can do it," she said. "With the support from my parents and the people around me I wanted to excel in both competitions. I was sure to rely on other members."

Joshi wasn't the only two-time winner in as many days. Garrett Redstone, who was also a part of the victorious mock trial team, won the marketing competition with Centennial's Go Gather team, which produced a virtual subscription box service designed to take teenagers off their phones and get them to socialize in person.

On Saturday, Centennial's mock trial team competed in the fictitious case of People v. Franks, the trial of Jordan Franks, a young actor who finished a run of performances of the Shakespeare-adaptation "Macbeth at Sea" on the cruise ship Heart of the Ocean. Franks was charged with robbery and battery of Franks' fellow actor, Billie Scher.

Joshi usually competes in the role of the closing prosecutor. On Saturday, she served as the bailiff since her team competed as the defense.

Joshi and Centennial senior Mia Rojas were named to the Kern County Mock Trials Honor Court, the top two students from each team who consistently performed the best throughout the course of the two-month competition.

"Vaishvi is a very hard worker," said Jaci Elliott, Centennial's VE director. "She is very driven. She is intrinsically motivated to do well. She is competitive. She is a strong leader. She cares about the success of Centennial High School and the legacy that she'll leave behind and that her teams will leave behind. She is a very impressive young woman who I think has a very bright future ahead of her because of all her qualities."

Trisha Brown, Centennial's mock trial coach, said Joshi also made for a great coach and captain of the team because she encouraged others to do well.

"She is probably one of the most enthusiastic and passionate students that I have ever worked with," Brown said of Joshi. "She's very competitive."

Joshi, who has not yet decided her future university, said she aspires to be in an educational leadership role on a university level.

Said Joshi: "Being a person who has been greatly impacted by educators I want to help students get somewhere in life so that they can help other people."

The rest of the Honor Court at the Kern County Mock Trials included:

Bakersfield High: Arianna Ibanez Ruelas and Parker Lambie

Centennial B Team: Shelene Bellamy and Hayliee Tat

Delano: Gabby Mendez Alonso and Kaeleigh Chanel Cezar

East: Noah Straub and Denali Gonzalez

Garces Memorial: Veronique Curutchague and Alyssa Hurtado

Golden Valley: Eduardo Chew and Celeste Alfaro

Highland: Logan Jarret and Anthony Renteria

Highland B Team: Arianna Enriquez and Rachel Camarena

Liberty: Cristian Arellano and Maria Robison

Ridgeview: Jiya Sharma and Valeria Ojeda Barroza

RFK: Sharae Brown and Andrea Bravo

South: Karrigan Weldin and Sereen Evans

Stockdale: Lilliana Brownlee and Robbie Achury

West: Adamariz Escobedo and Elijah Harvey

Wonderful Prep: Angelica Haro and Enrique Gatica

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Virtual Enterprise State Conference and Exhibition

Business Plan Competition (top 8 advance to national event in New York in April)

First Place — Centennial High School / GoGather

Second Place — Bakersfield High School / Food4Thought

Third Place — Ridgeview High School / The Eco Depot

Fourth Place — Ridgeview High School / Youforia

Fifth Place — Stockdale High School / Accelera