Congratulations to the 71 Middle and Upper School students who are recipients of this year’s President’s Volunteer Service Award, which recognizes and celebrates their remarkable commitment to community service.
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. According to the PVSA website, “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.” The award recognizes individuals who have achieved a specific number of service hours during a 12-month period. Awards are given to youth ages 15 and under who have completed 50 or more hours of volunteer service and to individuals 16 and older who have completed 100 or more hours.
Erin Hamill, Director of Global Learning and Upper School Community Service, said, “The goal of this program at MICDS is to encourage more people to live lives of service and celebrate the spirit of volunteerism. Recognizing and honoring volunteers sets a standard for service, encourages a sustained commitment to civic engagement, and inspires others to make service a part of their lives. All of which aligns with MICDS’ mission to prepare students for lives of purpose and service.”
Arjun Puri ’25 found a vibrant community online of fellow chess players and volunteered to teach chess through the St. Louis Chess Club during the pandemic. He shared remarks about the experience at the assembly honoring the President’s Service Award recipients. He said, “I especially cherished the opportunity to give back to the club and the chess community, which have given me so much over the years. More than that, however, volunteering with the Saint Louis Chess Club has given me the chance to connect with others in a way I had never thought possible. Even through a screen, sharing my passion for chess with other like-minded people opened my eyes to the wonders of human connection and how serving one’s community can bring people together.”
In the Upper School, 63 students logged a combined total of over 7,500 hours of service, and six of these recipients recorded over 250 hours in 12 months, which is an impressive feat.
Harris Ahmad ’25, Bronze
Hasan Aslam ’24, Bronze
Natalie Benoist ’25, Bronze
Brooke Bernstein ’25, Bronze
Nina Bhayani ’25, Bronze
Baishali Biswas ’25, Bronze
Giacomo Castelmare ’25, Bronze
Devon Catsavis ’24, Bronze
Armaan Chandak ’24, Bronze
Dalton Costick ’26, Gold
Noemi Crall ’26, Silver
Jacob Daus ’25, Bronze
Abby Derdeyn ’25, Gold
Brianna Desai ’23, Bronze
Shivani Devrapally ’24, Bronze
Ana Estes ’24, Gold
Saivi Gadi ’25, Bronze
Sanjana Gandhi ’25, Gold
Jacob Genin ’26, Gold
Layla Gilbert ’26, Bronze
CJ Goot ’23, Bronze
Janet He ’24, Bronze
Sean Hogan ’26, Bronze
Angelina Hu ’26, Gold
Ric Jain ’25, Bronze
Anna Jiang ’26, Silver
Ishika Kanjerla ’24, Bronze
James Karslake ’25, Bronze
Alexander Kellner ’24, Bronze
Shreyas Kota ’26, Gold
Karthik Krishnaswamy ’26, Bronze
Grant LaMartina ’25, Bronze
Rachel Li ’24, Bronze
Lily Loeb ’25, Bronze
Diya Makkapati ’25, Silver
Yash Malhotra ’25, Bronze
Sarah Mills ’25, Bronze
Ava Moore ’24, Bronze
James Morey ’25, Bronze
Anika Mulkanoor ’25, Gold
JC Nguyen ’23, Gold
Kate Niemeyer ’26, Gold
Louis Niemeyer ’24, Bronze
Jai Patel ’25, Bronze
Happy Phatak ’23, Gold
Amisha Poojari ’25, Bronze
Arjun Puri ’25, Gold
Avani Reddy ’25, Gold
Katherine Royce ’24, Bronze
Nina Schuerer ’25, Bronze
Kyle Sha ’23, Gold
Emma Shao ’23, Silver
Sameer Shafqat ’24, Bronze
Genesis Starks ’24, Bronze
Samantha Sullivan ’25, Bronze
Abhishek Sunkara ’24, Bronze
Joseph Walsh ’25, Bronze
Hannah Wang ’26, Bronze
Norah Wright ’25, Bronze
Hiba Zamir ’26, Silver
Four students earned awards outside of MICDS:
Nicole Dai ’23, Gold
Anna Dehlendorf ’26, Silver
Arnav Jhamb ’24, Gold
Elizabeth Schmidt ’23, Bronze
In the Middle School, eight students were recipients of the President’s Service Award. Middle School Teacher Krystal White said, “MICDS expects each eighth grader to complete 20 hours of community service. The Upper School has a long history of recognizing its students who exceed the basic service requirements. We also recognize the importance of honoring our Middle School students to inspire others to do more good in the world. This is the first year that we’ve recognized students with the President’s Volunteer Service Award in the Middle School, and I’m so very pleased that we had eight students model for their peers how to give back to their community in this impactful way.”
Lola Compton ’27, Gold
Carlin DeArmond ’27, Bronze
Daniel Kuhlman ’27, Bronze
Thayer McLaughlin ’27, Bronze
Siva Ram ’27, Bronze
Navya Reddy ’27, Bronze
Maahi Saini ’27, Bronze
Vishinsky White ’27, Bronze
One student earned an award outside of MICDS:
Hannah Ponciroli ’28, Bronze
At the Upper School assembly, Assistant Head of School for Teaching and Learning Sally Maxwell shared, “Small acts of service strengthen community. We can all develop the myopia of our own needs and fail to see the needs of others. The person who sets themselves aside and focuses on others builds a new, powerful connection. We hope that you all find that.”
Congratulations, Rams, for your service to your community!