English is not Kavitha’s first language. It’s Telugu, with roots in ancient Dravidian, spoken in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and by 80 million people worldwide.

Kavitha is a life-long lover of books. In eighth grade, she read Margaret Mitchell’s 1000-page Gone with the Wind over a long weekend to avoid helping her parents pack and unpack boxes during a move.

Her favorite rom-com is from an era before the term was coined, Merchant and Ivory’s “A Room with a View,” based on the novel by E. M. Forster, is a feast for the eyes and the soul.

A family vacation in Ireland thirty years later revived touching memories of the welcoming place her family first immigrated.

Her fight songs: “I Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers or “Man in the Box” by Alice in Chains, depending on the vibe.

A pipe dream is to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. She needs to find time to train, in between injuries (sigh). The closest she’s gotten is a view of the magnificent snowy peak through the clouds on a flight from Arusha to Nairobi.