A group of seven Indian American college students were awarded Upakar Foundation scholarships as they pursue degrees with a targeted completion in 2019.

The awardees, announced Oct. 28, include Viral Shah, of Galloway, N.J.; Kyra Clark, of Sorrento, Fla.; Rutaba Malik, of Irving, Texas; Srihari Adarsh, of Edina, Minn.; Beckyannie Raju, of Yukon, Okla.; Sachin De Young, of Manhattan, Kan.; and Anthony Paul, of Rutledge, Penn.

De Young was named the Virginia for Education Scholar while Paul received the Ajay Ojha Memorial Scholarship, a scholarship established in 2014 named in memory of former Upakar board member Ajay Ojha.

“We are honored to be able to recognize a long-time board member Ajay Ojha, who passed away in 2014 in a tragic accident,” Upakar president Jyotsna Gupta Jalil said in a statement. “His friends, family and admirers have created a named scholarship for him. We take pride this year in awarding the first Ajay Ojha Memorial Scholarship.”

The graduating class of 2019 includes a pair of community college award recipients and joins another 16 Upakar scholars whose scholarships will be renewed for the current academic year.

“Another year, another great set of Upakar scholars,” executive vice president Nirupma Rohatgi said in a statement of the 16th anniversary of the scholarship awards. “The key to advancement in the globalized economy is education, and Upakar plays a significant role in facilitating that in our community.”

Upakar was established in the Washington, D.C., area in 1997 to change the stereotype that all Indian American children can afford four-year college educations without going into debt.

“Excellence in our community should be rewarded,” treasurer Nithya Nagarajan said. “After all, financial resources should not be the sole determinant of a child’s level of success. But the need outstrips the current ability to meet it, and costs continue to rise.”

In 16 years, the foundation has awarded 136 scholarships to students. Scholarships are given to students either born in India or have at least one India-born parent; scholars must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident; the family’s adjusted gross income determines if there is a financial need; and the scholar’s raw high school GPA must be above 3.6. If the scholar maintains a 3.3 GPA in college, the scholarship will be renewed for up to four years.

“We continue to strive to find the best of our community and support them, so they can focus on their academics rather than their student loans,” Jalil said.

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