Youth mental health advocate, author, Coca-Cola Scholar Semifinalist, leader, and mentor, Pritika Kharkwal has received the National Honor Society Scholarship award for $25,000, being recognized for her achievements throughout her high school career.
The awards ceremony was a three day event in Washington, D.C. Here, Kharkwal was able to explore the city while getting to know the other semifinalists at the event.
“At the second to last day of the conference at the gala, figuring out that I won the national award was incredible,” Kharkwal said. “I was so grateful for the support that I got from my peers, family and friends.”
As a National Honor Society member and chapter president, Kharkwal’s high school journey was marked by leadership, service, and a clear sense of purpose.
“It’s really easy to just live in your own world, but it’s equally as important to find a way to speak up or advocate or put yourself out there,” Kharkwal said. “I never knew that the times I was only a young person advocating for legislation, it would actually help. Putting yourself out there, advocating for your peers, your community is incredibly important, so I think that that’s definitely a skill to carry with me [that I’ve gained] from NHS.”
A large part of Kharkwal’s goals include advocacy for her community as, she works hard for helping the youth, and is truly passionate in her pursuits of helping the youth through mentorship and became the youngest student to receive the Excellence in Leadership award for Corporate Youth Leadership for her exceptional impact in the community.
“The foster youth mentoring act was the transition to success,” Kharkwal said. “So, it was where young people were able to have access to resources that they didn’t [have]. So, I met with policy makers [and] went to the Capitol building and the Senate building. Closing differences and proposing for more fiscal funding.”
As Kharkwal was exposed to more people and more opportunities, she was able to delve deeper into mental health advocacy, and published a self-help book, “It’s time to start looking in: An Interactive Guide to Happiness by a Youth for Youth”. In addition, she runs a podcast, meeting with psychologists and professionals to further spread awareness on mental health.
“As I started hearing young people and their stories, that got me very interested in mental health advocacy,” Kharkwal said. “In many ways, it’s all about just amplifying young people and their needs.”
In balancing her many commitments, Kharkwal said that there hasn’t been a time when she felt like she was sacrificing her happiness for the activities she does. In fact, that is what has been her main motivation and has allowed her to remain persistent throughout her years in high school.
“It needs to be something that you enjoy doing, not activities that you’re doing just for the sake of doing it,” Kharkwal said. “[A] lot of the activities that I even put like in my applications were not activities that everyone has done, it’s more organizations that are small to medium size, but I just I really enjoyed working with them, and so it’s not always doing what everyone else is doing, but following your own passions. That’s what keeps you motivated to keep going and doesn’t let you feel overwhelmed because you’re only spending time in things that you actually love doing.”
As her high school chapter comes to an end, Kharkwal is looking forward to welcoming new opportunities at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
“We don’t choose our concentration until the second year of college,” Kharkwal said. “I was looking into pursuing Finance, but as of now, I’m going in with an open mind. I’m not dead set on one concentration, but I want to explore business and public policy.”
Kharkwal knows that trying new things can be intimidating, so, to students who are on their own paths and are stressed about finding their passion in high school, she offers a simple but powerful piece of advice:
“Be genuine,” Kharkwal said. “People can tell when you’re being authentic—and that’s what makes your story stand out.”
