The Harvard Book Prize is a prize given to young and talented high school students recognizing their achievements, both inside and outside school. Senior Sid Madhavan was one of the 1,900 students who received the award this year.

“I was definitely in shock when they gave it to me,” Madhavan said. “The fact that I now owned something with the name of the best university in the entire world on it seemed unreal. I faintly recall gaping at the book and grinning like an idiot for a good 10 to 20 minutes after Mr. Thomas had left the room,”

English teacher Ann Partlow had asked Madhavan’s girlfriend, senior Alexis Smedley, for his email a month before to nominate him for the award.

“Mrs. Partlow nominated me in secret, and I didn’t find out about it until Mr. Thomas walked in and presented it,” Madhavan said.

When principal Dave Thomas walked into the classroom to present the award, Madhavan was at the front of the classroom blowing his nose.

“I was actually picking up a tissue to go blow my nose when Mr. Thomas came in and announced my name,” Madhavan said. “It was kind of embarrassing since they had to put the whole shebang on pause so I could step out and blow my nose,”

Madhavan took his mom, Marina Madhavan, with him to the ceremony on Sept. 26  at the Jones Day Law Firm.

“[The Jones Day Law Firm] is a beautiful building about a block north of the Capitol Building, with a terrace that had a great view of all the scaffolding.” Madhavan said. “Mrs. Partlow would’ve attended, but unfortunately couldn’t make it due to an unexpected event,”

The Head Dean of Admissions from Harvard spoke at the ceremony and at the end of her speech the 30 winners got to talk to her and have her sign their copy of The Harvard Book.

“The book is about the history of Harvard, alumni, what the university means, all about Harvard basically,” Madhavan said.

Although Madhavan doesn’t think that this award will make him want to apply to Harvard, this experience will last him a lifetime and add weight to his college applications he said.