Gadsden City High held a ceremony and reception on Friday, April 19 to honor Mithun Rameshkumar and Sally Whitt, the school’s their two National Merit Finalist for the Class of 2024.
Rameshkumar is the son of Gyathri Kandasamy and Ramesh Chellamuthu. He has a 4.0 GPA and is in the top one percent of his class. He plans to attend Dartmouth University in New Hampshire in the fall to pursue a degree in economics.
Rameshkumar scored a perfect 36 on his ACT as a sophomore and is a Class of 2024 National Merit Finalist. He will be graduating from GCHS with an Advanced Diploma with Honors.
While at Gadsden City, Rameshkumar has been a member of or participated in varsity indoor/outdoor track with All-American honors. He competed in regional and state level races on the varsity cross country team as a top runner and captain of the team. He is also a member of the varsity swim team and varsity tennis team, where he was seeded No. 1 on the team in both singles and doubles. Rameshkumar was team captain this season and placed first in the Alabama High School Section Tournament for boys singles. He also competed at the 2023 AHSAA state tournament for singles and doubles.
On the flip side of his athletic prowess, he is a member of the Scholars Bowl team, where he has competed in local, regional and national competitions and won JV Nationals in 2019. Rameshkumar is an active member of the UAB Division for Preventative Medicine Training and Career Development Program where he has conducted literature reviews for ongoing research regarding cancer and poverty and has participated in discussions regarding healthcare disparity.
He is a volunteer with Silverline Tutoring, where he has been active as a hiring manager of international nonprofits spanning 70 countries with over 5,000 members as well as conducting outreach and interviewing candidates for various positions.
Rameshkumar is active in the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, Key Club, Beta Club, Titan Helpers and Titan Ambassadors. He tutors students in the Upward Bound program through Gadsden State Community College and worked as an intern at the 2022 midterm election polls. He is a member of the Gadsden City School Board Accreditation Committee.
Whitt is the daughter of Scott and Holly Whitt. She has a 4.0 GPA at and is in the top one percent of her class. She plans to attend Auburn University to pursue a degree in aerospace engineering. She scored a near perfect 34 on her ACT and is a Class of 2024 National Merit Finalist. She will be graduating from GCHS with an Advanced Diploma with Honors.
While at Gadsden City, Whitt has been a member of or participated in junior varsity and varsity volleyball, MANNA meal delivery for the homebound and the Auburn Wesley Food Pantry in Loachapoka. She was instrumental in the distribution of food boxes to families experiencing food insecurity in Lee County while working with Loachapoka United Methodist Church. Whitt has been a volunteer for the Gadsden Public Library Summer Reading Program and is a longtime volunteer with the Salvation Army during the holiday seasons as a bell ringer.
Whitt is currently a member of First United Methodist Church, where she volunteers in any capacity in which she is needed. She is an academic peer tutor, an ACT tutor and an elementary math tutor. Whitt is a member of the GCHS flag football team that made it to the third round of the state playoffs in its inaugural year in the fall of 2023.
Whitt is active in Titan Ambassadors, Interact Club, Peer Helpers, Beta Club, National Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta, where she serves as vice president, Spanish National Honor Society and the Key Club, where she holds the position of committee chair. She earned the AP Scholar with Honor Award, as well.