9th grader earns second place in writing contest

This marked Suhavi Singh’s fourth time earning recognition in the competition. She was also among the top winners in 2020, 2022 and 2023.

Suhavi along with other top performers were honored during the 2024 Mahatma Gandhi Birthday Celebration on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, at Carnegie Mellon University. The event was facilitated by the Alliance for Humanitarian Initiatives Nonviolence & Spiritual Advancement with programming support from the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion at CMU.

Essays were submitted in early 2024, when Suhavi was an eighth grader at Upper St. Clair’s Fort Couch Middle School. Her second place finish earned her an award certificate, a $500 scholarship and the opportunity to present her work at the Gandhi Day event.

The theme for this year’s contest was, “Crafting Harmony in the Contemporary World.” Students were tasked with writing an essay, poetry, or musical composition that represents Gandhi’s and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s belief that community harmony can be promoted through interfaith dialogue, non-violent conflict resolution, community building and citizen diplomacy and explaining why Gandhi’s approach to community harmony is important in current times.

The contest is organized into three divisions – grades 3-5, grades 6-8, and grades 9-12. Award prizes for each division include first prize – $750; second prize – $500; and third prize – $250.

Suhavi is a member of the Upper St. Clair High School Speech & Debate Team and the USC Robotics ROGO team. In addition, she competes on the school’s tennis team and the wrestling teams.