A second-year graduate student in the Master of Public Policy program received the McCourt School of Public Policy (MPP)’s Whittington Scholarship, which honors outstanding academic achievement and community contributions, for the 2023-2024 academic year. 

The prestigious Whittington Scholarship, which is awarded to one MPP student each year, recognized this year’s scholar, Anirudh Srivathsan (GRD ’24), for his achievement in class and his involvement with student associations. The award of around $15,000 is granted in honor of Leslie Whittington, an associate professor of public policy and an associate dean at the then-Georgetown Public Policy Institute, who was killed during the 9/11 attacks. 

Srivathsan is heavily involved within MPP, serving as the director of social programs, president of the McCourt Student Association, a member of the South Asian Policy and Research Initiative (SAPRI) and a former graduate assistant in the student affairs department. He also serves as a residential fellow for undergraduate students living at Georgetown University’s downtown campus. 

Jaclyn Clevenger, the director of student engagement at MPP, said Srivathsan’s passion for community and connection is one of his strengths, matching the spirit of MPP initiatives. 

“We call McCourt students ‘impatient changemakers,’ and as someone who is eager to develop more inclusive policies, Anirudh definitely fits that moniker,” Clevenger wrote to The Hoya.

Srivathsan said he strives to positively impact his community by helping students who feel academically or socially disoriented, aligning with McCourt’s goal for its students to work as global citizens to conduct policy-relevant research that helps the communities they serve. 

“Generally, I am someone who cares about the community he is in, perceives gaps within the community where students are often lost in school, be it academically or socially, and finds happiness in helping bridge that gap,” Srivathsan wrote. “Feeling like it makes a positive impact and encourages people to show up and contribute to making the community better motivates me.” 

Keith Guerrant, the student affairs coordinator at MPP, said Srivathsan has been a natural leader, even from the first day of his incoming student orientation course. 

“His team members during the different activities we had naturally gravitated to make him leader for certain things and went to him for advice, as if he wasn’t also just starting the first semester with them as well,” Guerrant told The Hoya.

Guerrant added that Srivathsan has cultivated a positive and welcoming environment for his peers at MPP. 

“He’s always a friendly face, essentially, and that’s what everyone enjoys: a friendly face and not just a friendly face, but also a very approachable and friendly personality,” Guerrant said. 

Despite Srivathsan’s close connection to MPP, he said he struggled with the Whittington Scholarship application process due to its required personal statement.

“I struggled writing the personal statement because I am not someone who generally likes to talk about himself in a way that highlights all his achievements or involvements,” Srivathsan wrote to The Hoya. “It was mainly a struggle to overcome my anxieties and fear of rejection.” 

Reflecting upon his time at Georgetown, Srivathsan said it is essential to connect with one’s community and create inclusive spaces. 

Srivathsan added that his success stems from the various opportunities he received through networking and the McCourt faculty’s unwavering support.

“Most of the opportunities I was blessed to be a part of came from me knowing or talking to the right people and building a good relationship with them,” Srivathsan wrote. “The McCourt Faculty and staff have been super supportive and nurturing during my time here and they are very happy when students interact with them.”