The BTDC is delighted to announce the recipient of its 2025 Civic Scholarship: Ridge High School rising senior, Meera Shah, will be awarded a $1000 stipend and an internship with CD-7 candidate Rebecca Bennett. She’ll be recognized at the high school’s June 12 awards ceremony where BTDC Chair, Jane Conklin, will present Shah with the honor.

Meera has excelled in the classroom, on the forensics stage and is a fierce proponent of free speech and debate. She will no doubt enjoy working on efforts to unseat Republican Tom Kean this summer and promises to help with the Hodges & Tompkins run for Bernards Township Committee as well.

Meera’s interest in politics and current events is home-grown as she was raised around lively dinner table discussions with her parents and younger brother. She really found her voice, however, through her involvement with Women in Debate and the Ridge High Forensics Team, where she’s a captain of Lincoln Douglas Debate, and an award-winning competitor both locally and nationally.

This young lady’s energy is contagious as she says, “We don’t seem to care about issues until they start affecting us. It’s hard to push for change when people aren’t listening…And it’s important to understand that sharing your opinion doesn’t mean you’re excluding others’ opinions.”

Among her peers, Meera sees lots of talking and not so much listening. She also feels, “More student voices need to be heard, along with the adults.” Her goals moving forward include getting more involved with the Ridge Democratic Club, perhaps even in a leadership role. She wants to promote more consensus building and a greater sense of freedom to advocate for causes and concerns among her classmates at Ridge.

Shah also enjoys contributing to the Ridge Devils Advocate newspaper, the Ridge Political Review and actively mentors younger students through Women in Debate. She looks forward to becoming more involved with the BTDC in the months ahead.

— Jen Aaron