Philadelphia, PA – During the pre-game activities at the 120th annual Army-Navy game on December 14th, Renaissance Academy (RA) senior Avinash (Avi) Ganguly was presented with a National Naval Reserves Officers Training Corps (NROTC) Scholarship. With only about 4,000 winners from over 25,000 applicants, this highly competitive, national, merit-based scholarship is worth over $200,000 in tuition and educational expenses,
Avi began his JROTC career as a freshman in 2019. Flash-forward to May 2019 when Avi, then a junior, was appointed the Commanding Officer of the 2019-2020 freshmen JROTC unit. About this latest accomplishment, Avi said, “It is such an honor to receive this scholarship from the US Navy. The feeling is indescribable.”
Captain Craig Armstrong (USNR, Retired), Senior Naval Sciences Instructor and Avi’s JROTC commander said, "After watching Avi grow into a capable, responsible leader over the past 3+ years, it came as no surprise that he would be awarded this prestigious scholarship. Avi will make an excellent officer candidate and Naval Officer. I look forward to following his career in the coming years".
Avi resides in Jeffersonville, PA with his parents, Atul and Sanjana Ganguly, and sister, Diya. A senior in the Renaissance Academy Class of 2020, he is a member of the National Honors Society, the Academic Decathlon Team, as well as, the varsity soccer, varsity basketball, and varsity baseball teams. He also serves on the RA Academy Council, Head of House, and as Vice-President of the Key Club.
The NROTC scholarship recipient is grateful for all the opportunities he has experienced toward his ultimate goal of attending flight school and fulfilling his dream of becoming a United States Naval Aviator. During the summer, Avi was also selected to participate in the 2019 Annual Summer Leaders Experience (SLE) at West Point US Military Academy, New York.
Atul Ganguly, Avi’s father, remembers his son 8 years ago at the US Navy Blue Angels Air Show where he expressed his interest to the Blue Angels Commander. “The Commander responded to be sure to do well in school because it’s very hard to get in”. It’s my belief that Avi took that as a personal challenge and from that point, did everything in his power to make sure he was the most qualified candidate. He’s worked very hard to achieve his goals but he could never have accomplished them without the support of his teachers and the staff at Renaissance Academy.”
Avi is a candidate for the US Naval Academy. He recently went through a series of interviews with Congresswoman Madeleine Dean, Senator Pat Toomey, and Senator Bob Casey as part of this process. Notification regarding any resulting nominations for his candidacy will be announced within the next few months.