NEWARK, N.J., May 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Suraj Kulkarni,
18, of Corvallis, Oregon, was
named one of America's top 10 youth volunteers of 2021 on Sunday
evening by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards during the
program's 26th annual, and second fully virtual, national
recognition celebration. Selected from a field of more than 21,000
youth volunteers from across the country, Suraj has earned the
title of National Honoree, along with a scholarship of $5,000, an engraved gold medallion, a crystal
trophy for his school, and a $5,000
grant from The Prudential Foundation for a nonprofit organization
of his choice.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, sponsored by
Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association
of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), honors students in grades
5-12 for making meaningful contributions to their communities
through volunteer service.
Suraj, a senior at Corvallis High School, created a website
where young people of diverse backgrounds can share their
experiences, perspectives and culture with one another, along with
online conferences that have involved young people from more than
13 countries. As an Indian American, Suraj had to get used to
school mates joking about his name, making fun of his lunch food,
and humiliating him in other ways because of his background. As a
result, "I felt ashamed of my own culture and heritage," he said.
When the Black Lives Matter movement brought topics of race and
discrimination to the forefront last year, Suraj felt the need to
provide all teens who identify as minorities with a platform to
talk comfortably about their cultures, their unique struggles and
experiences with prejudice, and to understand that all of their
individual qualities matter.
He recruited a half-dozen friends to help him set up a website
and begin writing and publishing posts on the site, which now
features more than 20 articles by minority students plus interviews
with notable minority public figures. Suraj and his team also
established a presence on Instagram, and started hosting online
awareness conferences to connect students all over the world. In
addition, Suraj organized an "Awareness and Acceptance Week" in his
hometown of Corvallis, during
which hundreds of students watched videos of minority teens
discussing prejudice and ways to counter systemic discrimination.
"Especially in today's climate, it's so important to be
understanding of each other's struggles," said Suraj.
"After 26 years of honoring young volunteers, we know that
students across America do great things in service to their
communities, and we're especially inspired by this year's honorees
for doing so in the face of unprecedented challenges," said
Charles Lowrey, Prudential's
chairman and CEO. "Prudential is proud to shine a spotlight on
these remarkable young people and their stories of service."
"These young volunteers are great examples of the resilience and
commitment to social progress that so many students demonstrated
over the past year," said Ronn
Nozoe, chief executive officer, NASSP. "NASSP
congratulates these students on a well-deserved honor, and thanks
them for providing us all with role models for turning adversity
into action."
These are the other National Honorees:
- Katie Chai, 18, of
Charlotte, North Carolina, who
helped start a grassroots effort to address the shortage of
personal protective equipment (PPE) in her city by using 3D
printers and laser cutters to make more than 100,000 face shields,
which were ultimately distributed to health care workers across
North Carolina and in 12 other
states.
- Michael Chen, 13, of
Raleigh, North Carolina, who
has made more than 580 mask "buckles" with his 3D printer to lessen
the discomfort that wearing face masks for extended periods can
cause behind the ears.
- Ruby Kate Chitsey, 13, of
Harrison, Arkansas, who has
raised more than $300,000 to grant
wishes for over 8,000 nursing home residents across the country who
cannot afford day-to-day expenses such as pet food, haircuts or
clothes that fit properly.
- Cash Daniels, 11, of Chattanooga,
Tennessee, who has organized cleanup outings that have
removed more than 11,000 pounds of trash from the Tennessee River,
recycled over 1,000 pounds of aluminum cans to raise money for
river conservation, and installed fishing-line recycling
receptacles along the river.
- Orion Jean, 10, of
Fort Worth, Texas, who has
collected more than 600 toys for kids at a children's hospital, and
provided more than 40,000 meals for people in need, after winning a
national speech contest in which he encouraged people to "Race to
Kindness."
- Thomas Kim, 17, of
McLean, Virginia, who has
piloted more than 20 flights to deliver over 70,000 personal
protective equipment (PPE) items and ventilator supplies to rural
hospitals in four states since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
- Gitanjali Rao, 15, of
Lone Tree, Colorado, who has
reached more than 30,000 students around the world, encouraging
younger generations to think creatively about confronting the
world's big challenges by leading online workshops where she shares
the unique problem-solving methodology she created.
- Samantha Vance, 12, of
Fort Wayne, Indiana, who
launched an initiative to provide "buddy benches" for shy, lonely
or bullied kids at more than 150 schools across the country.
- Ellie Zimmerman, 18, of
Purchase, New York, who is the
founder and CEO of an organization that has recruited thousands of
high school students across the country to provide technology
assistance to more than 180 nonprofit organizations, as well as to
teachers, parents and students struggling with remote
learning.
National Honorees were announced Sunday, culminating a three-day
weekend of events celebrating Spirit of Community's 102 State
Honorees – the top middle level and high school volunteer of 2021
from each state and the District of
Columbia. In addition to remarks from guest speaker
Priyanka Chopra Jonas, the State
Honorees connected with each other through small-group
project-sharing sessions and learned about service and advocacy
from accomplished Spirit of Community alumni. They were also
congratulated by special guests including Lowrey from Prudential
and Nozoe from NASSP.
To read the names and stories of this year's State Honorees,
visit http://spirit.prudential.com.
About Prudential Financial
Prudential Financial, Inc.
(NYSE: PRU), a financial wellness leader and premier active global
investment manager, has operations in the
United States, Asia,
Europe and Latin America. Prudential's diverse and
talented employees help to make lives better by creating financial
opportunity for more people. Prudential's iconic Rock symbol has
stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more
than a century. For more information, please visit
http://news.prudential.com.
About NASSP
The National Association of Secondary
School Principals (NASSP) is the leading organization of and voice
for principals and other school leaders across the United States. NASSP seeks to transform
education through school leadership, recognizing that the
fulfillment of each student's potential relies on great leaders in
every school committed to the success of each student. Reflecting
its long-standing commitment to student leadership development,
NASSP administers the National Honor Society, National
Junior Honor Society, National Elementary Honor Society,
and National Student Council. Learn more at
http://nassp.org.
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SOURCE Prudential Financial, Inc.