Shivani Vaidya, an MRHS Junior, received the Presidential Outstanding Volunteer Award on February 27th, 2018. This award is given to people who volunteer much of their time to a specific organization.

“It is not an award students typically get, it is an award people who have given a lot of their time, and put a lot of effort into it get,” Vaidya stated. She has dedicated more than 1000 hours into the Phoenix Teens Association.

Vaidya volunteers with Phoenix Teens Association, which runs through the city of Phoenix. She said, “We help teens who have lost their track, get back up on their feet.” She feels the  organization is really beneficial to the community.

To get this award, she had to be nominated. Initially, Shivani applied for the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards scholarship, which is a teen recognition program that is based on an individual’s volunteer service. In this program, she won the state level. However, since she didn’t win the national level, the organization sent her application to the Presidential Volunteer Servicing Organization.

“I feel great! It is a great award, and it can give me a lot of opportunities in the future,” Vaidya said. “I have been recognized for my volunteer service before, but this is probably been the best award I have gotten.”  Congratulations to Shivani for receiving this prestigious award!