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2017 Distinguished Alumnus: Pranav Shetty
Pranav ShettyShaler Area is proud to announce 1999 graduate Dr. Pranav Shetty as the 2017 Distinguished Alumnus.

Dr. Shetty was recognized during the National Honor Society Induction Ceremony in November for his accomplishments following high school graduation and his global contributions to emergency medicine.

“I am both humbled and honored to be chosen as the 2017 Distinguished Alumnus Award winner by the Shaler Area School District Distinguished Alumnus Committee,” Dr. Shetty said in his prepared remarks.

The Shaler Area School District created the Distinguished Alumnus Award to recognize and honor the graduates of the Shaler Area, Shaler, Etna or Millvale School District who have made a valuable contribution to society either in his/her personal or professional life.

A committee of teachers and administrators from Shaler Area High School selects the winner of this award annually as a way of recognizing the many accomplishments of its graduates.

Following his 1999 graduation from Shaler Area High School, Dr. Shetty went on to graduate from college and then medical school from the University of Pittsburgh, complete a residency in emergency medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, and then earn a Masters of Public Health at the University of Maryland. During his medical and public health training, he took advantage of the opportunity to travel overseas in order to volunteer his time treating patients. In order to further pursue a career working in underserved areas, he joined International Medical Corps in 2012, a global nonprofit humanitarian aid agency, as an emergency medical coordinator.

Dr. Shetty was one of the first doctors to be deployed in the Philippines after the devastating and deadly Typhoon Haiyan hit the islands and southeast Asia in 2013. He also was instrumental in the humanitarian response to the 2014 Ebola epidemic and helped set up hospitals in Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Botswana, and Ghana.

Dr. Shetty’s work was recognized at the national level, when in January 2015, First Lady Michelle Obama invited him to the White House State of the Union Address as her personal guest. Dr. Shetty had the opportunity to meet President Barack Obama, who thanked him for his dedication to helping those in need regardless of race, gender, nationality, or class.

Dr. Shetty now works as a health advisor for the London-based international nongovernmental organization, Save the Children, which promotes children’s rights, and provides relief and support to children in developing countries.

Though Dr. Shetty was not able to attend the National Honor Society Induction in person, his family accepted the Distinguished Alumnus Award on his behalf, and in a prepared speech, Dr. Shetty encouraged the students in attendance always to strive for success.

“My advice is …  do not ever become complacent as complacency leads to apathy and apathy leads to failure,” Dr. Shetty said in his remarks. “There always has to be a next step, a future goal, something to work towards. Always. Success is relative, hard to measure, and only you will know when you have achieved it.

“Lastly, try to remember to always live your life like it means something; this is the only way it will.”