Paradise Valley High School student Nikhil Puttamraju was recognized by the Paradise Valley Unified School District governing board Sept. 17 after earning the Congressional Award Gold Medal, the highest honor Congress bestows on youth civilians.
Puttamraju was honored during the board's awards and recognitions portion of the meeting for achievements in public service, personal development, physical fitness and exploration.
Earning the Gold Medal requires at least 800 hours of work over a minimum of two years, including 400 hours of voluntary public service, 200 hours of personal development and 200 hours of physical fitness, along with a five-day, four-night expedition or exploration.
“Much of this work is focused in health care and public health, where the student organized blood drives, led a 30-student youth coalition, and helped expand healthcare opportunities for students across the state of Arizona,” district officials said during the recognition.
The Congressional Award was established by Congress in 1979 to recognize initiative, service and achievement among young people. Participants work toward goals in four areas: voluntary public service, personal development, physical fitness and expedition or exploration.
The Gold Medal is the highest level of the program and requires participants to demonstrate a sustained commitment over at least two years. The Congressional Award describes it as "Congress' highest honor for youth civilians".
Puttamraju was among 877 young people recognized as members of the Congressional Award's 2026 Gold Medal class. Gold Medalists were invited to Washington, D.C., in June for a three-day summit that included events at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, meetings with members of Congress and leadership and career programming.
The recognition is not Puttamraju's first academic distinction this year.
In March, he placed third overall at the 2026 PVSchools Science and Engineering Fair for research examining the role of endostatin in regulating hypertrophic response in neonatal rat ventricular myocytes and the restorative effects of VEGF and FGF21. His finish qualified him to advance to the Arizona Science and Engineering Fair.
The governing board recognized Puttamraju during its Sept. 17 regular meeting at the district administrative center.
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Meet Stacy Stacy Mantle is joining the team at Independent Newsmedia, Inc. as an Education Solutions journalist, thanks to a grant from the Arizona Community Collaborative. She has a long history in education that ranges from teaching junior high and middle school to developing curriculum and standards-based assessments.
Community: A longtime advocate for animal welfare, Stacy is deeply involved in rescue efforts and volunteers with several nonprofit organizations.
Random Fact: Once upon a time, she shared her home with a pet coyote and two wolf hybrids. The experiences were wild enough to become the subject of her first book!
Education: She holds a BA in English with a minor in Political Science, a Post-baccalaureate in Secondary Education, and an MBA with a emphasis on Marketing.
Hobbies: In her spare time, Stacy writes fast-paced urban fantasy novels, crafts small-batch artisan soap, and is always up for hiking or off-roading through the Arizona wilderness with her husband of 23 years.
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