Runner Profile

Runner:

Sudhi Uppuluri

Marathon:

Detroit Free Press Marathon

Previous marathons:

None

Fundraising Goal:

$2620

$0 Funds Raised: $285 $2620

About myself

I am an aerospace engineer by trade but I don't directly do aerospace engineering. I help people do aerospace engineering. I am a sales manager that sells software and services that help aerospace engineers do better engineering. Believe it or not, just like teaching, it requires a much deeper understanding of aerospace engineering. People are always asking you "why" and you had better know the answers.

I like this way better. The computer does not say thank you when you fix its problem. The turbine blades are not grateful for giving them more water. I like the human element.

"Computers are very fast, very accurate and dumb. People are very slow, inaccurate but brilliant."- Albert Einstein

Why am I running a marathon?

My desire to run a marathon first came from wanting to build Team Asha's awareness in the Michigan community and to contribute to poor kids education than wanting to be fit (I always thought I was very fit until I started running long distances).

In Orissa, I saw these rural kids (NOT a small % of the population, literacy rate among girls is about 50%, boys 70%) who are running around and playing all through their younger years only to be put to work in the rice fields when they turn 11. At first, I felt very grateful for getting education without choice. This gratefulness also came with despair at the magnitude of the country's problem.

I personally cannot fix the problem; someone else has to do it. And that is TRUE. (I do not make policy decisions on education in India). But I would like to see the problem fixed.

I cannot lift a log but I can design a lever to lift it.
I cannot create 5 MW of energy but I can design the turbine to do it.

Massive change does not come from chipping away at the mountain but from building a strong enough dynamite. The right people, the right awareness of the subject and the right actions by these people is the answer any problem.

By running the marathon and putting together a team -

we raise money to help projects now,
we raise awareness to help projects in the future,
we learn the mechanics of a social change.

Why Asha for Education?

My favorite subject is mathematics, calculus to be specific. My teacher in high school for calculus was awesome. A great communicator and explained concepts in relation to real life.

I did not like history. My teacher in school treated it as bunch of dates, names and places to memorize.

My current favorite subject is history. The history channel is my new teacher. We really can learn a lot from history. How can we know where we are going if we do not know our past?

Education makes us who we are. If you want to carve out good citizens, you shape their education. 50% female literacy rate for the future citizens of India is farcical!

Please help me and others support this important cause.

Thank you,

Sudhi

Donations to Asha for Education are tax-deductible under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Tax Code

Asha-Ann Arbor