Future Leaders winner takes problem solving to the next level at Colorado's Cherry Creek High School
Six times throughout the school year, CBS Colorado, along with its partners at Chevron and the Colorado School of Mines, spotlights a high school student excelling in STEM. The Future Leaders award comes with $1,000 and a profile on CBS News Colorado.
The first winner of the 2023-24 year is Neil Bhavikatti. He's a senior at Cherry Creek High School. Math is his favorite subject, and he explores it in many ways.
"It's a project in algorithms and optimization," Bhavikatti said of a project he's working on at the University of Colorado Denver.
Bhavikatti is working with Julien Langou, the Chair of the Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Department at CU Denver. It's Bhavikatti's third extracurricular project on the college level. Together, they are exploring the math behind computer coding.
"I knew that it would be difficult, of course, because linear algebra is definitely very theoretical, and it's definitely difficult to make new ideas and new advancements," he explained.
Bhavikatti embraces the difficult. He is chair of his school's math club where he conducted math competitions and does lectures.
"Math is definitely one of my favorite subjects," he said.
"Neil is being presented with the Congressional Medal for exemplary, incredible community service and service to country," said Congressman Jason Crow, representative of Colorado's 6th Congressional District.
In a recent ceremony, Bhavikatti was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, after first earning the Congressional Bronze and Silver Medals.
"I was really excited. I was definitely working towards this since the beginning of high school," he told CBS News Colorado Meteorologist Dave Aguilera.
Bhavikatti did hundreds of hours of community service, physical fitness, and personal development to win the awards. They sit among a slew of trophies and awards he's won, many for chess. Bhavikatti is a National Chess Master.
"Chess is great because it's just about problem solving," he explained.
"Why do you love chess?" Aguilera asked him.
"Chess is just a battle between your ideas and your opponent's ideas, and how well you can get across your ideas while limiting your opponent's ideas at the same time," he responded.
Bhavikatti got the idea that we wanted to help non-profit organizations with their computer needs. It was born out of an internship he did at Project C.U.R.E., a Colorado-based organization that ships medical supplies to underserved areas around the world.
"There were a lot of problems with duplicate records and also misspelled information, and so each of those comes with a cost," he said of the organization's donor database.
Bhavikatti enlisted some of his friends to fix the database, and then started an organization called Techies 4 NonProfits, connecting other organizations with tech savvy students.
"Why do you think it's important to support nonprofits in this way?" Aguilera asked.
"A lot of local nonprofits might be facing technology issues," he answered.
Bhavikatti is a born problem solver. He plans to continue studying pure math and sociology in college. A combination which could allow him to lead the way on even bigger societal problems.
LINK: Future Leaders Nomination Form
You can nominate a high school student who excels at STEM through April 19, 2024.