St. Clair Family
Speech & Debate Award
Conceived of in 2006 and first awarded in the 2007-2008 academic year, the St. Clair Family has presented this scholarship to graduating seniors at Bridgewater-Raritan High School in New Jersey who have set themselves apart academically and as active leaders on the debate team. A list of recipients and statistics can be found below.
Of the nearly 20 recipients:
• Approximately 30% have been women
•75% have been from 1st-generation immigrant or ethnic minority backgrounds
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•Recipients have received 9 post-graduate advanced degrees and 1 Fulbright Award

Recipients have earned Undergraduate and Advanced Degrees from the following universities and programs:
• Stanford
• Harvard
• Drexel
• Hunter
• UPitt
• MIT
• NYU
• Yale
• McGill
• Emory
• Georgetown
• UPenn, Wharton
• UMich Law School
•Columbia/Sciences Po, Dual Degree
•TCNJ/Rutgers, New Jersey Medical School, 7-Year BA/MD Program
1. 2007-2008 — Mr. Abhinav Jain
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MIT, undergrad (2012)
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UPenn Wharton, MBA (2019)
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Investment banking and private equity
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2. 2008-2009 — Mr. Abhishek Yeleswarapu & Dr. (Mr.) Paras Minhas
Abhishek
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Drexel, undergrad (debated at UPenn, 2014)
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Clinical product management career
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Professor at Drexel
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Paras
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The University of Pittsburgh, undergrad (2013)
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Stanford University, M.D./Ph.D. (M.D. earned, 2017, still working towards Ph.D.)
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Has held various prestigious research fellowships, started non-profit
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3. 2009-2010 — Ms. Martha O'Donovan
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NYU Gallatin School, undergrad (2014)
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Received a Fulbright Fellowship in Zimbabwe
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Arrested as an activist in Zimbabwe in 2017 for tweeting against Robert Mugabe, she was held in a state of legal limbo until January 2018.
4) 2010-2011 — Mr. Kevin Sun & Dr. (Mr.) Prashanth Palvannan
Kevin
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BRHS Class Valedictorian
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Harvard University, undergrad (2015)
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Private equity and Investment Banking Career
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Prashanth
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TCNJ, undergrad (2015)
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Rutgers, MPH (2016)
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Rutgers, NJ Medical School, M.D. (2018)
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General Surgery Resident at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
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5) 2011-2012 — Ms. Esther Vinarov & Ms. Mariah Xu
Mariah
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Yale University, undergrad (2016)
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Hunter College, Master’s Degree, Clinical Psychology (2020)
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Researcher & Graphic Designer
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Esther
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McGill University, undergrad (2016)
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The University of Michigan, J.D. (2021)
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Attorney
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6) 2012-2013 — Mr. Jonathan Chylinksi
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Emory University, undergrad (2017)
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Substantial Volunteer Activities
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Accounting & Management Consultant
7) 2013-2014 — Ms. Gina Kim
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Georgetown University, undergrad (2018)
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Published Author
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Human Resources
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8) 2014-2015 — Ms. Grace Chen
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Harvard, undergrad (2019)
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Harvard, Master’s Degree, Statistics (2019)
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Private Equity & Investing
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9) 2015-2016 — Mr. Sahaj Garg
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Stanford University, undergrad (2020)
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AI & Software Engineer
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10) 2016-2017 — Mr. Ryan Jin
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TCNJ (2021)
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Rutgers NJ Medical School (2024)
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Public Health Researcher
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11) 2017-2018 — Mr. Raj Koshal
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Columbia University (2022) & Sciences Po (2020), undergrad dual-degree program
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Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Crossfire
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12) 2018-2019 — Mr. Julian Melendi
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Yale University, undergrad (2023)
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Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Crossfire
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13) 2019-2020 — Mr. Darpan Chahal
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Recent BRHS Graduate (2020)
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14) 2020-2021 — TBD
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Will be awarded in June, 2021