Johnston Teen Named 2013 Herbert Hoover Uncommon Student

From the Johnston Schools website:

Vaibhav Srikaran, a junior from Johnston High School, has been named a Herbert Hoover Uncommon Student.

Srikaran is among 15 high school students from across Iowa who are finalists in the 16th annual Herbert Hoover Uncommon Student Award program.

Srikaran is the son of Lakshmi Rajamani and Srikaran Ramaseshan of Johnston.

The title of his project is Phun with Physics and Problem Solving. Srikaran's goal is to host a class at his local library at which he will assist children, grades 3-5, in engineering and building challenges.

The USA program seeks to identify uncommon Iowa high school juniors who are gifted as hard workers. The program encourages young Iowans to invest their talents and energies in their schools, communities and beyond; promoting personal growth, maturity and self-confidence while making a difference in people’s lives.

The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Association in West Branch sponsors the Uncommon Student Award program, which honors Herbert Hoover, an Iowa native and the 31st president of the United States. The program is named after a speech he gave in 1948 on “The Uncommon Man” and challenges young Iowans to be uncommon. He noted, “In my opinion, there has been too much talk about the common man. We believe in equal opportunity for all, but we know that this includes the opportunity to rise to leadership – in other words, to be uncommon.”

Srikaran will come to West Branch in June for a weekend of activities at the Hoover Presidential Library-Museum and National Historic Site and will return in October to receive his $1,000 award and speak to a selection committee of distinguished Iowans about his project. Three students will be chosen based on their presentations to receive $5,000 scholarships to be used at an accredited two or four college or university anywhere in the country.