Nikhil Kulkarni, a senior at High School North and a member of Boy Scout Troop 168, will be honored at a Court of Honor ceremony on Sunday, December 17, for attaining the Eagle Scout rank.
To attain the rank of Eagle, Kulkarni earned 21 merit badges and served in several leadership positions, including senior patrol leader, the highest leadership position in his Boy Scout troop. ##M:[more]##
His community service project involved landscaping 400 square feet of land at Mill Pond Park in Plainsboro. He tilled, seeded, mulched, soiled, and watered the land to improve the look of the community. He also built a retaining wall to prevent soil erosion. Kulkarni led a team of 36 scouts and adults during the 330 community service hours. The funds for this project came from Plainsboro Trash Pick-up Program, where Kulkarni arranged for his troop to pickup trash along the roads of Plainsboro. His troop leaders include Jerry Foster, Dave Weimer, Danny Mejias, Tracy Wehringer, Vic Offman, and Lynn Hoff.
Kulkarni was born in Mumbai, India, and moved to the United States in 1998. He has returned to Mumbai twice. “When I arrived in Mumbai a few months ago, the change was tangible,” he says. “Sixteen-lane highways, a shiny airport, glass towers, flyovers, people driving expensive cars — it was a pleasant surprise.”
Besides English, he can speak French, Hindi, Marathi, and Konkani. His parents, Anant and Nutan, work in the pharmaceutical industry. His sister, Neha, is in the sixth grade in Community Middle School.
Kulkarni received the Order of Arrow Award, which represents membership into Scouting’s National Honor Society. Last summer he went to Philmont, where he went on a trek that involved backpacking 50 miles through the cliffs and valleys of the Rocky Mountains. “With 50 pound backpacks on our backs, we beheld the Wild West’s beauty while hiking strenuous trails” he says. He has also completed the entire New Jersey portion of the Appalachian Trail, and has participated in a 50-mile bike ride.
A member of North’s National Honor Society, he is also a member of National French Honor Society, National Society of High School Scholars, and a National Merit Scholarship Commended Student.
He is also on the Math League Team and in Science Olympiad. He was part of the school team that went to the National Science Olympiad Competition and ranked second place in the nation. A member of the Model UN club, he attended the Ivy League MUN conference twice.
Certified in lifeguarding, first aid, and CPR, Kulkarni works as a lifeguard in Plainsboro during the summer.
Kulkarni, who has held a passion for acting since he was five, played the title role in “Pied Piper of Hamelin” in kindergarten. In seventh grade, Kulkarni portrayed Benvolio in “Romeo and Juliet.” He played the roles of Armand, Beauxhomme, Gatekeeper and Peasant in “Once on this Island.” In ninth grade he played Brad in “Two for the Road.” During his sophomore year, he played the Greek in “Guys and Dolls.”
His 1,”000 volunteer hours include service to American Red Cross, Boy Scouts of America, Order of the Arrow, St. Lawrence Rehab Center, University Medical Center at Princeton, Plainsboro Public Library, Plainsboro Recreation Center, SSSS, and the Mighty Oaks Players.
Last summer Kulkarni traveled to India to help establish a pre-school for slum children in Mumbai. With the help of the pharmaceutical giant, GlaxoSmithKline, he was able to start an educational institution for underprivileged kids.
He taught the children English, read fairytales to them, taught them nursery rhymes, staged puppet shows, taught them origami, and sang songs with them. “When I tried teaching them ‘The Wheels on the Bus,’ they stared at me, confused, and then started laughing,” he says. He also trained their teachers to teach effectively and to properly use the provided equipment. For their classroom, he made posters and added decorations to make the room more suitable for the children.
“I faced many social and cultural challenges in the slum. Adapting to slum life was the first difficulty I encountered, having lived in the world’s richest nation. Since the children conversed in Marathi, I had to better my communication skills to fully comprehend what they said. I helped feed the students, for some of them weren’t fed at home. For lunch, the children were served porridge, which was cooked with a minimum sense of hygiene.”
“Even though my doctor had advised me not to eat or drink in the slum, I ate with the children so that they did not feel I was different. And albeit I became sick after eating their food, the satisfaction of eating with them far outweighed having my own lunch. Had it not been for the school I helped establish, the students would have resorted to begging on the streets for a living. Therefore, the experience was absolutely gratifying — I was helping those who needed help the most.”
He also helped in establishing a counseling center for high school student, who came from the slum areas. Having lived in an impoverished area, these students faced many problems, including child abuse, academic stress, and neglect. The children were also not taught about health, diseases, and sexual education. The guidance center, now run by a social worker, not only addresses their personal problems, but also teaches the students about sex, diseases, and protection. His next mission is to volunteer in Africa where he would like to be a part of the slum rehabilitation program that seeks to help the poor find jobs and move out of slums.
