Kamal Shaik and CUSD Recognition
Despite building up to the end of a fantastic 2019-2020 school year, our Knights are unrelenting in their quest for awards in Arizona. One fantastic example of the relentless power of our Knights is Kamal Shaik; an ACP senior who exemplifies the best traits of our students. I spoke with Kamal to learn more about what this award means, and how he got to where he is today.
Q: What award are you being recognized for on Wednesday?
A: I am being recognized for winning the National Honors Society Scholarship at the Semi-Finalist Level.
Q: What does it take to win this award?
A: I’m not sure how in-depth you’d like me to be, but essentially there’s an application you must fill out online for the grand scholarship approximating $25K, and then anytime between the end of March and beginning of February, you’re informed of how far you made it in the process (Semi-Finalist, Finalist, Winner). Each level has it’s own scholarship award amount.
Q: How do you feel being recognized for this award?
A: I feel ecstatic that I was awarded this scholarship even though it wasn’t the grand amount. I consider it a great honor and privilege to be recognized amongst hundreds of extraordinary students who have also strove to uphold the ideology and goals of the National Honors Society and am thankful for having the opportunities to serve my community and build the repertoire to apply for this scholarship.
Q: What can you attribute most to winning this award?
A: The opportunities I was able to pursue that allowed me to build the necessary skills in leadership and service.
Q: What advice can you offer to those who seek to be recognized for similar awards and titles?
A: Do not doubt the extracurriculars you’ve done in high school, and when applying, if you feel like your resume isn’t strong enough to compete, still apply. If the activities you pursued were truly very meaningful to you, then you can explain them in such a way that the scholarship selection committee can see your dedication and passion within your field of interest. A couple or handful of meaningful extracurriculars that you pursued because you were truly interested and excited to explore and learn about is much preferred over a hodgepodge of activities pursued with limited interest and simply to build the pretentious image of a well-rounded student.
Kamal Shaik represents the culmination of goals that ACP students strive to achieve. Extracurriculars are a crucial part of a student’s high school transcript, and they can’t be taken for granted when concerning scholarships. Being awarded $3,200 for his commendable academic record, Kamal attributes much of this accomplishment to expressing his interest in extracurriculars and the desire to be extraordinary.
