DOUBLE SCHOLARSHIP winner! NRHS senior Shivani “Shivi” Srikanth has won $46,000 in scholarships – $20,000 from Coca-Cola and $26,000 from the Henry David Thoreau Society. From left: Principal AJ Loprete, guidance counselor Ann Tiberii, Shivi Srikanth, and Superintendent Dr. Patrick Daly. (Courtesy Photo)
NORTH READING — Shivani “Shivi” Srikanth, a senior at North Reading High School, has been selected as a 2022 Coca-Cola Scholar, one of only 150 students nationwide. She received this recognition for her superior leadership and academics, along with serving as a change agent in her community.
Out of the 68,000 high school seniors who applied for this prestigious award, 1,600 were chosen as semi-finalists. A rigorous selection process followed during which 250 students were selected as regional finalists. This was followed by a final interview to choose the national winners. As a member of the 2022 class of Coca-Cola Scholars, she will receive a $20,000 scholarship award towards college.
Separately, Shivi has also been selected as a Henry David Thoreau Scholar. She is one of eight high school seniors selected statewide for this honor. As part of receiving this recognition, Shivi will receive a $26,000 scholarship award from the Henry David Thoreau foundation towards her college education.
“We are so proud of Shivi’s accomplishments and honored by the ways she represents North Reading nationally through her outstanding achievements in community, leadership, and academics,” said Superintendent of North Reading Public Schools Dr. Patrick Daly.
North Reading High School Principal Anthony Loprete added, “We are thrilled that Shivi has been recognized as both a National Coca-Cola Scholar and a Thoreau Scholar and eagerly look forward to watching her chart her career.”
Shivi, for her part, credits all of her supporters. “I am so grateful for the opportunities and guidance I have received. I share these recognitions with Dr. Daly, Mr. Loprete, Mr. Hehn, Ms. Tiberii, Mr. Emerton, Mr. Dorval, Mr. Blum, Mr. Reddington, Ms. Jen Ford and every one of my teachers, coaches, mentors, family and friends that have cheered on my successes and picked me up whenever I was down. Thank you!”
Shivi is an activist whose passion lies at the intersection of technology, sustainability and racial justice. She is the founder of WEinnov8, a program designed to foster an interest in engineering among students of color. Combining her passion for softball and STEM, Shivi also co-founded Women In Sports Tech (WiST) Next Gen, a program created to make the sports-tech industry more accessible to high school girls. Through partnerships with NCWIT and SportsHi, this initiative has reached over 20,000 youth nationwide. Shivi was recently named as one of Boston’s “25 under 25 Innovators” for her work to promote STEM opportunities in underserved communities.
Here at home, Shivi is founder and president of the NRHS Social Activism Club, a co-founder of FIRST Robotics in the community, and a member of the National Honor Society. She is also a volunteer coach with North Reading Girls Softball and the North Reading Little League Challenger program, and co-mentors an FLL Robotics team for elementary students in town.
She is also an avid musician, singer/songwriter and a Junior Olympic softball athlete with the New England Storm program. Shivi is graduating as valedictorian and plans to pursue a joint degree in engineering and public policy in college. She is the daughter of Ayikudy Srikanth and Sheela Sethuraman.
About the scholarship
programs
The Coca-Cola Scholars Program is an achievement-based scholarship awarded to graduating high school seniors. Students are recognized for their capacity to lead and serve, as well as their commitment to making a significant impact on their schools and communities.
With the addition of the 2022 class, the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation will have provided more than 6,600 Coke Scholars nationwide with over $78 million in scholarships over the course of 34 years. A joint effort of Coca-Cola bottlers across the country and The Coca-Cola Company, the Coca-Cola Scholars Program is the largest corporate-sponsored, achievement-based scholarship program in the United States.
The Henry David Thoreau Foundation is a charitable trust that propels environmental leadership across disciplines. Since 1999 the Thoreau Foundation has provided more than $7 million to support environmental work. Each year they award scholarships to outstanding Massachusetts high school seniors – the next wave of environmental leaders who will pursue interdisciplinary environmental studies in college and beyond.
Today, nearly 200 Henry David Thoreau Scholar alumni are working around the world, seeking functional solutions to local and global environmental challenges.
