TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa high school senior is the proud recipient of the prestigious Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Medal. It was first awarded in 1916 as a way to recognize students with high academic achievements and promote careers in STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

This year’s recipient is an IB student at Robinson High School, Vikram Sambasivan.

“Last year I was notified I was invited to a senior breakfast, it’s kind of like the end of the year banquet for all the seniors, but I was a junior at the time so I was confused,” said Sambasivan, but he quickly discovered why he was invited to that breakfast — he was there to receive the Rensselaer Medal, which also comes with a scholarship should he choose to attend RPI next fall.

“They (Sambasivan’s parents) told me it’s this really prestigious university and I start looking into the award and I was really honored and humbled because it’s given for outstanding achievements in science and math,” he said.

Science is one of Sambasivan’s favorite subjects, and he’s spent his last two summers working in the lab at the Clean Energy Research Center.

“My friends were sending me pictures of them at the beach and I was like, ‘Why am I here?’ But then I realized, I like being in the lab. I find fun in whatever I do,” he said.

Journalism and podcasting are also fun hobbies for Sambasivan. He started the White Coat Story podcast when he was in the seventh grade. On it, he interviews physicians on how they got to where they are today.

Sambasivan is also an editor-in-chief for his school’s newspaper. He says he’s not sure if he’ll attended RPI, but wherever he ends up, he hopes to make a difference in people’s lives through his two true passions — journalism and science. 

Sambasivan was nominated by his school for the Rensselaer Medal award. The merit scholarship is available for four years for each medalist who is accepted and enrolls at Rensselaer.