Lafayette Student Earns National Recognition for Volunteer Work

For the past six years, Lafayette High junior Shruthi Senthil has taken a leadership role as a volunteer for People for Urban and Rural Education (PURE), advocating for health equity and women’s health locally and globally.

On April 14, she received national recognition for her service, earning a Daily Point of Light Award from the nonprofit Points of Light.

Points of Light is the world’s largest organization dedicated to volunteer service. Former President George H.W. Bush created the Daily Point of Light Award in 1989, and Senthil is Point of Light No. 8303. She also has the opportunity to participate in the Points of Light Conference in Washington, D.C., in June.

Senthil is one of five national student directors for PURE, and the organization nominated her for this award without her knowing.

“It just showed up in my email one day, and I was like, ‘This is so cool!’” she said. “I never expect rewards or certificates. Whenever I do get them, I am immensely grateful that people think of me in this light. It shows that the work and effort I put into something I’m so passionate about is worth it and that other people see the impact I’m making as well.

“Points of Light is supposed to help these honorees connect and catalyze change together going forward. That’s another aspect of it that I think is rewarding.”

Through her work with PURE, Senthil combines her interests in science and women’s empowerment. At Lafayette, she reactivated the school’s Women in STEM chapter, and she hopes to pursue a career as a women’s health professional, possibly in obstetrics and gynecology.

Her particular focus at PURE has been period poverty, or raising awareness of – and helping alleviate – the scarcity of feminine hygiene products in low-income communities.

She was especially struck by a study that found 64 percent of low-income women in the St. Louis region lack consistent access to these products.

“I’ve always wanted to do so much good in my life and wanted to volunteer and create this huge impact,” she said. “I figured out I could do this in my own home, city and town. The need and necessity are right here.”

In October, she helped organize the PUREathon walk and run in Chesterfield, gathering 200 participants and collecting 75 pounds of donated feminine hygiene products.

She also worked with more than 35 PURE chapters around the country to help them hold PUREathon events of their own.

“I was putting so much energy behind it, and I was so excited to see how it turned out,” Senthil said. “It was so amazing to see all of that be orchestrated at the same time. It’s so exciting and fun seeing people be so grateful toward everything you do. It definitely keeps me humble, grounded and grateful for the life I live.”

In the short term, Senthil hopes to expand her involvement with PUREFemme, the organization’s global period poverty initiative. After that, she hopes to turn her knowledge and passion toward establishing free clinics around the world.

“I want to cause more change in women’s health, bring awareness and give people the resources they might not have access to,” she said. “Not everyone was born into the same life as me and not everyone has the same resources. Any volunteering work you do, the people you help are so grateful that there’s someone else out there looking out for them. Whenever I get to interact with them, it makes me so happy and melts my heart. And then seeing them succeed in other facets of life is always very fulfilling for me. I know I did a little something to help them get there.”