KOA Achievement Awards
For Kashmiri Pandit College bound students living in USA
Each year KOA awards one-time achievement award to Kashmiri Pandit College-bound student(s) living in the USA. Any high school senior student meeting the following requirements qualifies to apply for this award:
- High school GPA of at least 3.5.
- SAT score of at least 1985 out of 2400 or an ACT score of at least 30.
- A two-page essay about Kashmiri Pandit heritage.
- Some evidence of community service.
We invite potential applicants to send their vitae, essay, and ACT/SAT scores via e-mail to Professor Hira L. Koul at the following address. Also have your school directly fax the transcripts to the fax number 517-432-1405, addressed to Prof. Koul.
The winners of 2010 KOA achievement awards are:
Akansha Ganju, 8334 Autumnwood Way, Dublin. OH 43017
Akansha Ganju just graduated from Dublin Coffman High School in Dublin, Ohio and is the daughter of Ramesh and Neeru Ganju originally from Gogji Bajh, Srinagar. At her school she was awarded Certificate of Excellence, valedictorian, National Honors Society member and IB diploma candidate. As an avid actress she has performed in many school plays and was vice president of the Drama Club. She was a member of student council and has actively participated on the math team and cross country team. In regards to community service, Akansha was an officer of the Interact Club (a community service club) at her school. Every
weekend she participated in a Dublin tutoring program and was a youth ambassador of the American Cancer Society. During her summers, she went on a service trip to help rebuild houses in New Orleans, volunteered at the city of Boston animal shelter, and worked as a student researcher at the Ohio State University. After learning Indian classical dance for 11 years she performed her Arangetram (dance debut) in2008. Akansha will be attending a 6 year medical program (BS/MD) at the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (NEOUCOM) through Kent State University.
Iha Kaul, 5 Hacienda Way, Andover, MA 01810
Iha Kaul is currently a senior at Andover High School. She will be attending Cornell Universityin the fall, where she plans to pursue her studies in biology and social sciences. Her interests include the Indian classical dance Kathak and Kashmiri music. She enjoys spending her time doing community service tutoring and learning new things about her culture.
Sidanth Sapru, 616 Caraway Court, Naperville, IL, 60540
Sidanth Sapru, age 18, grew up in suburban Chicagoland, and graduated from the nationally-acclaimed Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in June 2010. Throughout his life, Sidanth has strived to maintain a balance between American and Indian culture, participating in weekly discussion groups on topics of Hindu spirituality since he was a young child. While in high school, Sidanth was ranked as one of the top six orators in his state at the 2009 Illinois State Speech Finals, and also served as President of his school’s Student Council. In 2010, Sidanth was selected as one of two Illinois delegates to the United States Senate Youth Program, where he met both President Barack Obama and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Next year, Sidanth will be attending Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN on a full-tuition merit scholarship, where he plans to study Political Science, Philosophy, and possibly the pre-medical sciences.
The committee has agreed to award each of them the College Bound Achievement Award for the year 2010.
On behalf of KOA management, we congratulate Akansha, Iha, and Sidanth on their achievements and wish them success in their endeavors.

Hira L. Koul
Program Director-Scholarships
Department of Statistics and Probability
Michigan State University
1739 Ann St. , East Lansing , MI 48823
E-mail: koul@stt.msu.edu
List of College Bound Achievement Awardees in previous years
2009
- Aditi Jalla, Oklahoma City, OK
- Isha Kaul, Tallahasee, FL
- Rudra Koul, The Woodlands, TX
2008
- Sankalp Bhan (Washington University at St. Louis), Katy, TX
- Akshay Chaku (University of Michigan), Troy, MI
- Yatin Mirakhur (University of Pennsylvania), Hudson, OH
2007
- Rohit Ganju (Georgia Tech), Duluth, GA
- Eisha Wali (Northwestern University), Darien, IL
- Ankush Zutshi (University of Miami, FL), Port Saint Lucie, FL
2006
- Meghana Dhar, 742 Herbrides Way, Sunnyvale CA 94087
2005
- Sandhya Nakhasi, 8504 Potomac School Terrace, Potomac MD 20854
2004
- Simmi Bhatt, 17 Floral Court, Nanuet, NY 10954
- Akshay Ganju, 110 Walnut St., Brookline, MA 02445
- Zitsi Mirakhur, 163 Owen Brown St. Hudson OH 44236
