South Brunswick Student Awarded For Academic, Athletic Excellence & Community Service

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — Shradha Duvvuri has been named as the official recipient of the Dr. Richard J. Zinsmeister Memorial Award for 2026.

Named for the late Dr. Richard J. Zinsmeister (June 8, 1960 - December 18, 1998), the award is for academic and athletic excellence and community service.

Each year, it's bestowed upon a student who plays a sport (or sports) at the varsity level, excels academically, and is involved in South Brunswick High School's service culture.

For 2026, Duvvuri has been named the award recipient. She is an A+ student and the MVP of the 2025-26 girls' volleyball team as well as the Treasurer of the Class of 2026.

As part of the award, Duvvuri will receive a scholarship as well as an award plaque.

The award speech from Dr. Zinsmeister's brother, James, is below:

"Whatever you can do, or believe that you can, begin it. Boldness has power and genius and magic in it.”

These words by the German poet and polymath Goethe encapsulate as well as any words could the life and philosophy of someone who meant a great deal not only to my family and this
community — my dear brother Rich — but to all the people and communities he touched around the country in his relatively short life.

Artist. Athlete. Musician. Scholar. Humanitarian. While at S.B.H.S.: Varsity letter winner in three sports: soccer, wrestling, baseball. Member of the Spanish and National Honor Societies. President of the S.B.H.S. Student Council.

My brother was all of these things and more.

After graduating from S.B.H.S. in 1978, Rich received a B.S. in Psychology from Seton Hall University; a Masters in Counseling Psychology from La Salle University; and, after many years of hard work and perseverance culminating in the composition of a thesis of more than 500 pages, a PhD in Formation Science — a comprehensive discipline comprising philosophy, psychology and comparative religion — from Duquesne University.

Upon completion of his doctoral studies, Rich worked for two years as the acting Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati — during which he had 22 Roman Catholic high
schools under his jurisdiction — before accepting a position with the Roman Catholic-affiliated Mercy Health hospital system as Director of Human and Spiritual Development.

Richie's tragic death Christmastime, 1998, left a void not only in our family, but in the hearts of all who knew him.

My brother's memory lives on — as well it should; but I believe it does so most beautifully in the bestowal of this award.

Although I underwrite this award, I am not involved in the selection process but invariably find the Athletic Department's choices outstanding.

The recipient of this year's Dr. Richard J. Zinsmeister Memorial Award for Academic and Athletic Excellence and Community Service checks all of the boxes.

Shradha Duvvuri was an A+ student and the MVP of the 2025-26 girls’ volleyball team as well as the Treasurer of the Class of 2026. She is stellar in every way.

Congratulations, Shradha!

Recipients of the Dr. Richard J. Zinsmeister Memorial Award for Academic & Athletic Excellence and Community Service from 1999 to today are as follows:

• 1999: Erin Sterenson / Brett Tanzman
• 2000: Kevin Earl / Valerie Miller
• 2001: Jad Duca / Kelly O'Toole
• 2002: Tess Barton / Ian Schwartz
• 2003: Mike Schutz / Danielle Eige
• 2004: Pam Weiss / Matt Ruffalo
• 2005: Tewodros Polk / Stefanie Sframeli
• 2006: Tyler Chromey / Rasika Chandrasekar
• 2007: Erica Brokaw / Michael Mariano
• 2008: Rachel Gurney / Jeffrey White
• 2009: Teresa Ha / James Kugel
• 2010: Navneet Goswami / Abby Weingarten
• 2011: Marguerite Boyle / Nicholas Ciabattone
• 2012: Ian Moritz / Casey Armstrong
• 2013: Tessa Trach / Shekar Muruganathan
• 2014: Kristin Cavorley / Scott Dunleavy
• 2015: Harrison Kudwitt / Leean Panconi
• 2016: Meghan Foley / Tyler Sanders
• 2017: Josh Liao / Nina Trach
• 2018: Matthew Ryan
• 2019: Zayna Jawed / Sahil Pesari
• 2020: Jillian Ryan
• 2021: Joseph Carlson
• 2022: Ryley O'Brien
• 2023: Samantha Schneider
• 2024: Ethan Fantel
• 2025: Alexis Lease-Springer
• 2026: Shradha Duvvuri