Congratulations to the 46 Upper School students who earned a President’s Volunteer Service Award through MICDS in 2022. These students volunteered over 6,000 hours and achieved 13 Gold, 6 Silver, and 27 Bronze awards. In addition, three students earned Gold and Bronze Awards outside of MICDS. Upper School student volunteers earned more than 12,800 hours of community service this year.
The President’s Volunteer Service Award program thanks and honors individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to service by helping others and giving back to their community. The program’s goal is to encourage more individuals to embody the spirit of volunteerism that makes this country so great. The award, an initiative of the Corporation for National and Community Service and administered by AmeriCorps and managed in partnership with Points of Light Institute, is given to individuals, families, and groups that achieve a certain number of volunteer hours over the course of 12 months or throughout a lifetime.
“It’s wonderful to recognize and celebrate so many students who have continued volunteering in so many ways despite the challenges of COVID. They serve as wonderful role models to our community, striving to live lives of purpose and service,” said Erin Hamill, Director of Global Learning and Upper School Community Service.
Kyle Sha ’23, one of the two student speakers, shared a reflection on his commitment to community service. “Being recognized today for our community service efforts is evidence that we are a generation of generosity willing to bring positive/sustainable changes to the future,” he said. Amisha Poojari ’25 spoke to her gratitude and desire to continue giving back. “We, together, have the power to form a better world. So, why not use it?” she said. “By just having a little compassion towards someone or something, we can create a huge difference in someone’s life. For me, that is the greatest reward of all.”
Nikitha Ada ’23 loved volunteering this past year. “Community service brings people together through love and warmth,” she said. “Throughout the pandemic, my friend and I conducted two blood drives, and it was really a rewarding experience seeing everyone excited to help others (many donating for their first time!). Volunteering is about helping others; it’s about giving your time without expecting anything in return and feeling happy when you see others happy.”
Upper School students honored for receiving the President’s Volunteer Service Award through MICDS this year are:
Nikitha Ada ’23, Gold
Hasan Aslam ’24, Gold
Brooke Bernstein ’25, Silver
Shelly Bhagat ’22, Bronze
Nina Bhayani ’25, Bronze
Zoe Carter-Konate ’22, Bronze
Shivani Devrapally ’24, Bronze
Coumba Diallo ’22, Bronze
Saivi Gadi ’25, Bronze
Jeffrey Ge ’24, Bronze
Harper Graves ’22, Silver
Hannah Haidery ’23, Bronze
Janet He ’24, Bronze
Sophia Huddleston ’25, Gold
Ritvik Jain ’25, Gold
Ryan Jan ’25, Bronze
Noah Kleinlehrer ’22, Bronze
Abhinav Kothakota ’23, Silver
Rachel Li ’24, Gold
Yash Malhotra ’25, Bronze
Patrick Mason ’22, Silver
Sawyer Merlin ’25, Bronze
Kashish Motwani ’23, Bronze
Bhavya Mudduluri ’24, Gold
Anika Mulkanoor ’25, Bronze
Colton Nappier ’22, Gold
Hala Nazzal ’24, Gold
JC Nguyen ’23, Bronze
Chelsey Nwamu ’23, Bronze
Jai Patel ’25, Bronze
Happy Phatak ’23, Gold
Amisha Poojari ’25, Gold
Arjun Puri ’25, Bronze
Isabel Quiroga ’22, Bronze
Miles Rainwater ’23, Bronze
Arya Ramakrishnan ’22, Gold
Katherine Royce ’24, Silver
Kyle Sha ’23, Bronze
Sasha Shanker ’22, Bronze
Emma Shao ’23, Bronze
Esha Singh ’24, Bronze
Sanchi Vishwakarma ’23, Gold
Savannah Whittle ’24, Bronze
Norah Wright ’25, Bronze
Abby Wyckoff ’24, Silver
Bowen Zhao ’25, Bronze
Three students earned awards outside of MICDS:
Nicole Dai ’23, Bronze
Patrick Mason ’22, Congressional Award Gold Medal
Nathan Yao ’23, Gold
Sanchi Vishwakarma ’23 noted that most of her service hours come from volunteering at various summer camps. “I like to switch up what camp I do each year, and this year, I did the Magic House Summer Camps from June to August,” she said. “Community service is such an amazing way to give back. Being able to make even the tiniest positive impact on someone means the world. I still get texts and emails from some parents of the kids I had in my camps and how they still talk about how they can’t wait to come back next year. It’s not for the transcript as many people think, but giving others joy gives me joy. Besides camps, I help out around school via tutoring and admissions panels, but camps are the highlight of my year!”
Congratulations to all Ram volunteers! Thank you for selflessly donating so much of your time and talent.