Recent graduating senior earns $7,500 college scholarship
It’s often said “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” With a schedule that includes a selection of advanced placement classes, three different varsity sports and three separate clubs, this is especially true for Floral Park Memorial High School graduating senior Jahan Mirchandani.
In applying for the scholarship, Mirchandani submitted a video to the ‘Got Milk?’ website, explaining how adding milk to his breakfast routine has helped in all aspects of life because it gives him the energy he needs to get through his long days. It’s also one of the reasons he was recently given a 2012 School Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year (SAMMY) award.
“I start every day with a glass of milk and my favorite snack when I get home is cookies with a side of milk,” said Mirchandani. “Milk is also very important to my Indian culture, which places very a high importance on it.”
Becoming a SAMMY winner is no easy feat. Mirchandani is part of a group of just 25 high school seniors selected by a panel of athlete Milk Mustache judges including Chauncey Billups, Dan Torres and Tony Hawk, from more than 30,000 applicants across the country.
The scholarship was available to all high school graduating scholar-athletes. Mirchandani, along with the 24 other winners from across the country will receive a $7,500 college scholarship, a spot in a milk-mustache ad in USA Today and an all expense paid trip to Disney World for an award ceremony hosted by celebrity guests Billups and Jennie Finch.
Due to the high number of applications submitted for this award, it was no slam-dunk that Mirchandani would be one of the few selected for this scholarship.
“Guidance first suggested that I apply for the scholarship,” said Mirchandani. “They also told me not to get my hopes up since 30,000 people do apply for the same scholarship, but luckily I was one of the 25 who were selected.”
When the panel of athlete Milk Mustache judges did make their decision, Mirchandani found the honor “very satisfying.”
“It’s nice to know that I am being recognized not just for what I do inside the classroom, but also the extracurricular activities I do outside the classroom,” said Mirchandani.
The extracurricular activities that Mirchandani was involved in outside of the classroom were wide and varied.
While maintaining a 4.0 grade point average at Floral Park Memorial High School, Mirchandani was a member of three varsity sports teams. He was named to the All-County Volleyball Team on Long Island while leading his team to a win in the county championships. He was also named Long Island’s Scholar Athlete of the Week for basketball, and was a member of the varsity baseball team.
“Jahan was not only an excellent athlete,” said teammate Ryan Glynn. “He also provided a good example for the rest of the team.”
In addition to his athletic accomplishments, Mirchandani was also a member of the National Honor Society and president of the student council.
“Jahan was our student council president this last year and did an outstanding job,” said student council supervisor Carolyn Faggioni. “This past spring he was instrumental in putting together a 3-on-3 basketball tournament to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project. The student council ended up raising more than $1,200 for that cause and Jahan played a key leadership role in the successful execution of this activity.”
Mirchandani is particularly proud of his role as secretary general for the Sewanhaka Model UN Conference. During his time in this role, he obtained 10 individual international Model UN awards while visiting prestigious universities such as Boston College, Rutgers University and the University of Chicago.
Mirchandani will be attending Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore in the fall. As an international studies major, he hopes to find an internship in Washington D.C.
