Edison Rotary names area high school seniors Students of the Year, awards small scholarships

The Edison Rotary Club presented its annual Student of the Year awards at a dinner in Edison Township, honoring seniors from local high schools for academic achievement and community service. Rich Fallon, the club president, opened the program and introduced Judy Mansback, director of the Student of the Year program, who read citations for each honoree.

J.P. Stevens senior Shreya Pendyala was recognized for founding CodeCraft Studios and for leadership and mentoring. After being introduced, Shreya told the audience she was “honored to receive Senior of the Year” and thanked the Rotary and her family. She closed her remarks with a line she said had been on her mind as graduation nears: “how lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

Other honorees included Callie Hambridge of Metuchen High School, recognized for co-founding a student volunteer group and earning the Girl Scout Gold Award, and Justin Adikapara of St. Joseph High School, who was unable to attend; his mother accepted his plaque and thanked the Rotary for the recognition. Sarayu Budha Budharaju of Edison Academy Magnet School was honored for more than 700 volunteer hours, leadership roles at her school and raising roughly $50,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society; Sarayu spoke about starting a “Letters for Rose” program during COVID to support nursing-home residents.

Organizers said small scholarships were awarded and that schools will distribute the funds to recipients (amounts were not specified). The program also included recognition of first responders (see separate article) and closed with an invitation to stay for cake and coffee.