The U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige announced in May names of 137 high school seniors, including nine students of Indian origin, as 2003 Presidential Scholars. These young scholars were selected out of 2,600 nominations across the country on the basis of their academic achievements, essays and transcripts, proven leadership qualities, community service and commitment to high ideals. The Presidential Scholars program was established in 1964 to honor most distinguished graduating high school seniors. The nine Presidential Scholars of Indian origin this year are:
Hari Prabhakar
is a student at S1, Mark's School in Dallas, Texas. He won second place in the 2002 St. Lawrence University Young Writers contest in fiction. A national-level merit scholar and an effective public speaker, he enjoys singing bhajans. He won numerous awards in math and science competitions and essay, short story and fiction writing contests.
UmaSundan Tadepalli, an Indian
classical dancer, graduated from Charles E. Jordan High School, Durham, North Carolina. She honed her Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dance skills at Laasya School of Music and Dance and Sanskrithi School of Dance and Music in Naperville, Illinois. She paJ.1icipated in the 2002 World Arts Festival held in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Ravi Chanderraj Kanhik Sridharan is a senior from Nashua High School North, New Hampshire. He has been selected for Columbia University's C.P. Davis Scholars program. He is president of school's chapters ofJunior Statesman of America and National Honor Society and a member of the student senate.
Nigar Shaikh is a senior from Lawrence High School, New York. She scored a perfect 1,600 in Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). She is president of the Student Government Association of her school and Distribution Education Club of America chapter. She is the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper.
Parmita Dalal
is a senior at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School in Lenexa, Kansas. The only student from the Johnson County area selected for this honor, she is president of the math and science Olympiad clubs.
is from the Meadows School in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was president of the senior class and captain of the football team, which last year won many trophies. He was Student of the Year several times in various subjects.
Ravi U. Sharma
is a senior of Jenk High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A valedictorian and a national merit scholar, he bagged the first position in the Mathfax competition last year. He is president of the National Forensic League.
Pia Shivdasani is a senior at Wood River High School in Sun Valley, Idaho. She is recipient of numerous awards, including Idaho Scholar for 2002 and Outstanding Student of the Year in many subjects and is involved in ballet and drama.
Neel B.Srikishen is a senior at Bob Jones High School in Madison, Alabama. He plans to study bioengineering and medicine. A Boy Scout for the past seven years, he works as a volunteer with Huntsville Hospital's rescue mission. He is the first violinist in the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra in Huntsville.