At just 12 years old, Charvi is already proving that she’s a multi-talented student with a love of learning, creativity, and competition. A rising 7th grader, she has built an impressive portfolio of coding projects while also excelling in music, sports, and chess.
Her projects show both technical skill and imagination, blending logic with design, while her accomplishments outside of coding highlight her drive to succeed in many areas. Whether she’s building a game, performing on the piano, or competing in tournaments, Charvi brings the same focus and curiosity to everything she does.
Discovering Coding Early
Charvi’s interest in coding began around 3rd grade when she took a Scratch course through Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. “I was doing a Scratch course, and then I wondered, what goes on behind the scenes? How is this working? Then I got interested in writing code,” she explained.
It didn’t take long for Charvi’s curiosity to outgrow block-based coding. “After doing the class, she pretty much got bored with Scratch. She wanted to learn real coding,” her dad explained. While searching for the right program, he prioritized smaller class sizes and strong instructors. “CodeWizards pretty much matched what we wanted,” he said. “Her instructor, Josh, is an amazing teacher. Keeping a 6th grader interested in coding takes real talent, and he does that very well.”
Diving Into Projects
Charvi started her journey at CodeWizardsHQ in Middle School Introduction to Python and quickly began creating projects that stood out. One of her earliest favorites was Dinosaur Catcher, followed by a customized Rock Paper Scissors game where she added a unique charades twist.
She also built a Wizard Quest project, enhancing it with her own “battle” function, and later a JavaScript timer project where she added a stopwatch feature. Her standout creation, though, is Guards of Dragono, a project that combined AI-generated artwork, CSS design, and her growing coding skills into something truly original.
“I love CSS,” Charvi said. “I like how CSS can have design qualities, but I also like how Python has logic and can actually do cool stuff.”
She even experimented with AI tools to create her project images: “I had to have 20 tries to get the right image.” That persistence paid off, and the results are both beautiful and original.
A Passion for Learning
Beyond her projects, Charvi is motivated to keep growing her skills. She enjoys data structures and JavaScript time functions and is already looking ahead. “I want to learn data structures like trees. I don’t know them yet, but I’m excited to,” she said. She’s eager to learn more about algorithms and expand her knowledge.
Her love of coding extends to her classmates, too. “I really love my classmates. I’ve been with them since I started,” she said.
Activities Beyond Coding
Charvi’s talents don’t stop at the keyboard. She has a long list of activities she enjoys, from tennis and swimming to piano, cello, chess, and sketching. She also creates her own neighborhood newspaper, which shares world and science news. “We try to remain unbiased,” she explained.
Sports play an important role in Charvi’s routine. She has been playing tennis for 4 to 5 years and competes in club tournaments. Swimming has also been a part of her schedule, with year-round training when time allows. Her dad explained, “My philosophy is go for tennis, go for swimming, and stay healthy. You’ll need a healthy body to have a healthy mind and focus on coding, math, and science. Health is the most important piece.”
Chess has been one of her strongest competitive outlets. She plays with Beyond Chess and has traveled to tournaments in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. She competes in both local and national events, including the US Chess Association’s scholastic division, and has earned a number of trophies over the years. Most recently, she won first place in her age group at the Southern California Scholastic Chess Championship, a highlight in a growing list of accomplishments.
Music is another passion. She’s been playing piano since she was six and cello since fourth grade. She competes in piano performances. “I feel more natural with piano, but I just like sitting with cello,” she shared.
And when she wants to relax, she enjoys fantasy novels like Percy Jackson, Keeper of the Lost Cities, Artemis Fowl, and Harry Potter, as well as science magazines. She also loves sketching, especially fashion designs and dragons, and spending time with her English Lab, Annie.
Looking Ahead
Charvi is excited about the future of her coding journey. “Maybe developing AI, building games, making my own website,” she said about her goals. She also wants to use coding to support her entrepreneurial projects, like boosting her neighborhood newspaper.
With her drive to explore, create, and compete, Charvi is already making her mark. From winning chess championships to designing AI-enhanced coding projects, she is showing the world what’s possible when curiosity and determination come together. Her instructor, Josh, sees that same spark in her work and shared his thoughts:
Charvi is such a pleasure to work with. She is positive and outgoing, and she makes the class an engaging and fun place for everyone. She always goes above and beyond in her projects, taking them to another level. Charvi asks insightful questions, helps her classmates both in class and in the forum, and answers with clarity and confidence. She brings out the best in those around her and raises the bar with every project.
Josh Ennis, CodeWizardsHQ Instructor
