Last month, Upper School Dean of Students Samantha-Stern Leaphart received an email from the Congressional Award Foundation notifying her that Pennington senior Dhruv R. ’25 had earned the Congressional Award Bronze Medal. Established into law in 1979, the award is open to students ages 14 through 23 and seeks to inspire and honor young Americans. Dhruv was recognized for his initiative, service, and achievement across four main program components: personal development, volunteerism, expedition, and physical fitness.
Dhruv first heard about the program online and quickly realized that it would afford him the opportunity to push himself to learn new things. Over the course of the year, he challenged himself with intentional goal-setting, including taking on extra volunteer efforts in his community. At the Watershed Institute, Dhruv assisted with local stream data collection, and he also spent time at the library and the YMCA teaching bike safety to young children. According to Dhruv, “I did some volunteering in the community before, but this program made me explore and serve my community even further.”
For the expedition part of the program, Dhruv was required to spend a week exploring a city; he chose Philadelphia, cataloging the places he visited and the people he met along the way. The interactions that Dhruv had with tourists, locals, and even a tour guide at the Eastern State Penitentiary were all documented in the report he submitted to the Foundation; Dhruv credits the writing skills he learned at Pennington with helping him successfully complete this work.
All of Dhruv’s efforts took place over a seven-month period, but that sort of long term commitment does not surprise his advisor, Alexander Ahn, a teacher of mathematics at Pennington: “Dhruv has a great work ethic. He doesn't shy away from tackling challenging problems, and has a tendency to generate a collaborative atmosphere working with his classmates.” Congratulations, Dhruv!