Anoop Desai

Desai was born in Cary, North Carolina and grew up in nearby Cary. His family moved to nearby Chapel Hill in 1998. Desai's father, Manoj Desai, graduated from IIT Kanpur and came to the US in 1977. His mother, Nalini Desai, grew up in Navsari, Gujarat. The family is of Indian descent. In the 1990s, Desai appeared on the WRAL-TV (NC Triangle) television children's show, CentralXpress.com, and played the character "Raj". The show won multiple awards, including seven regional Emmys, two national Iris awards, and a national Gabriel Award. Desai attended Carnage Middle School and Phillips Middle School, then later went on to attend East Chapel Hill High School, graduating in 2004. He was awarded a four-year academic merit scholarship to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was the Haywood W. Hinkle Carolina scholar from 2004 to 2008. After being accepted to the UNC, Desai joined the UNC Clef Hangers, a long-standing male a cappella group founded in 1977. Desai served as the group's music director during his junior year and as the group's president his senior year. Desai's performance as a soloist on the song "She Has No Time" was recognized with the BOCA 2007 (Best of College A Cappella). Desai graduated from UNC in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and American studies. He was awarded the 2008 Peter C. Baxter Memorial Prize in American Studies, as one who exemplified "intellectual excellence, personal warmth and creativity.