Seniors celebrated for good attendance

Showing up, working hard and listening to his mother all contributed to Shrey Bhakta winning a new car.

When it was time for the Richmond High School senior to select his prize number at the Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual senior celebration, Bhakta’s mother, Dipali, suggested that he should base it on his birthday. Born in 2007, he chose number 7, and it turned out to be excellent advice.

Graduating seniors were eligible to participate in the May 7 giveaway if they have no more than three excused absences throughout the school year. They also must have returned to school on the day of a medical appointment, and have no more than two tardies per semester.

Prizes included $400,000 of electronics, gift cards and scholarships; numbers are drawn to determine who gets what. Each senior won something worth $50 or more, along with scholarships and book credits from Indiana University East, Ivy Tech Community College and Earlham College. The last student whose number is drawn can select a scholarship or a car of a similar value.

Chamber officials began the program to help motivate and prepare students for the good attendance they’ll need in the workplace.

As the number of students waiting to learn of their attendance award got smaller, four students, all from Northeastern and Centerville, each received $500 Amazon gift cards. Then, Dot Foods surprised the second-place senior, Hagerstown’s Colton McMillan, with a $2,500 award.

And as confetti began to rain down in the First Bank Richmond Expo Hall at the fairgrounds, McMillan reached out to the last student standing, Bhakta, with a handshake to congratulate him.

Bhakta admitted being very nervous as the event began, but his excitement grew as more numbers were called, and he felt more confident about taking his mom’s advice.

“It still feels very unreal,” he said Friday, a day after visiting Wetzel’s lot and selecting his new gray Honda. “I’m happy my efforts in coming to school have paid off with something as big as a car.”

Bhakta’s car will help get him to Bloomington, where he plans to study computer science at Indiana University and pursue a career in software engineering. His sister, Dhwani, will be a senior there next year.

Beyond the prize, Bhakta said he enjoyed meeting students from other schools at the celebration. “It was nice to see people who take care of their attendance and care about their studies. It’s nice to meet people like them,” he said.

Bhakta encourages younger students to focus on their attendance so they have the possibility of winning Every Day Counts prizes in future years.

Although there were days he didn’t want to get up and his mom had to wake him, Bhakta said he always had reasons to go to school: Being able to have an education and make sure his mom doesn’t have to work as hard.

“It can be any reason – just have a goal in mind,” he said.

Bhakta said his high school experience has been great overall with caring teachers and challenging classes. His spring semester includes Advanced Placement economics, college-level speech, Spanish, biology and pre-calculus, and a Project Lead the Way course in civil engineering and architecture.

“It’s easy to come to school every day when people care about you being there,” Bhakta said.

“Good attendance is a foundational piece of preparing our next generation,” said Shawntel Baker, WCACC director of membership and education, in a news release. “We’re proud to celebrate these seniors and reward their continued commitment and effort.”

Additional sponsors and donors included First Bank Richmond, Ahaus Tool & Engineering, Richmond Power & Light, Meijer, Walmart, Economic Development Corp. of Wayne County, Osborn, Berry Plastics, Parlor Doughnuts, Richmond Parks Department and G101.3.