HILLSBOROUGH: Local student at Vo-Tech helps clean water educator

   Last December, Somerset County Vocational & Technical High School students Apurva Swapnil of Hillsborough, Shawn Young of Martinsville and Abhishek Shrinet of South Bound Brook volunteered to raise awareness and educate the school community about the importance and scarcity of clean water throughout the world.
   Their message was about the conservation of natural resources in general, but water was the main focus.
   Swapnil, Young and Shrinet brought Seth Maxwell of the Thirst Project, a non-profit organization that spreads the message of the global water crisis, to speak at an assembly about water limitations in Third World countries.
   The goal of both the SCVTHS group and the Thirst Project is to build clean water wells for underdeveloped and in need countries. Typically, these freshwater wells range in cost from $5,000 to $12,000.
   To gain support and increase donations, the students have teamed up other groups such as United for Rural and Agricultural Development (URAD), Somerset County Vocational & Technical High School Horticulture Program, and the Rotary Interact Club.
   Swapnil, Young and Shrinet created a presentation they gave at the 2012 N.J. SkillsUSA Championships. The three walked away from the competition with gold medals in the Tech Prep Career Pathways Showcase (Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources) competition. At the 2012 National SkillsUSA Championships held in Kansas City, Swapnil, Young and Shrinet competed and received bronze medals for their presentation.
   Swapnil, Young and Shrinet have plans to open a local chapter of the Thirst Project at their school, create fundraisers, host more assemblies and continue to spread the word on their cause. The Thirst Project will return in February to give a presentation by actor Michael Welch of the Twilight movies.
   The proposed local Thirst Project chapter already has more than 20 members.
   For information, contact James Strickhart at 908-526–8900, ext. 7169, or [email protected].