2023 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 87
BY SENATOR PEACOCK
A RESOLUTION
To commend Raj Letchuman on winning the Louisiana Student of the Year award.
WHEREAS, Raj Letchuman is the son of Santhi and Rama Letchuman and a senior
at Caddo Parish Magnet High School; and
WHEREAS, Raj Letchuman earned a perfect score on the ACT and is an avid
science enthusiast; and
WHEREAS, not only does Raj Letchuman excel in the classroom, Raj also serves
his community through tutoring and volunteering. Raj also frequently volunteers at the
rescue mission where he serves lunch and dinner to the homeless; and
WHEREAS, Raj Letchuman also tutors students in a wide variety of topics ranging
from math to English and preparation for standardized tests, including the ACT and
PSAT; and
WHEREAS, as the communications chair of the teen advisory committee for the
Community Foundation of North Louisiana, Raj Letchuman works with high school students
from across Caddo Parish to advise community leaders on how to allocate time and money
to improve mental health in Caddo Parish schools; and
WHEREAS, Raj Letchuman is a member of the Caddo Parish Magnet High School
mock trial team, acting as both an attorney and coach, in conjunction with serving as a
defense attorney for the teen court program via the juvenile diversion program of the Caddo
Parish District Attorney's Office; and
WHEREAS, Raj Letchuman also competed as an attorney at the National High
School Mock Trial Championship and competed at the National Science Bowl; and
WHEREAS, Raj Letchuman is the president of the astronomy club and the world
languages club in addition to being a Caddo Parish Magnet High School student
ambassador; and
WHEREAS, Raj Letchuman is a member of the Caddo Parish Magnet High School
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Key Club and National Honor Society; and
WHEREAS, among Raj Letchuman's numerous extracurricular activities, his
favorites include participating in state science bowls, learning new computer programming
languages, conducting independent biomedical research, and competing in biology
olympiads throughout the state; and
WHEREAS, Raj Letchuman participated in the following academic competitions:
first place in chemistry for the Caddo Magnet Science Fair and the regional Louisiana
science fair, first place in the exhibit category for regional national history day, first place
at the Louisiana State Mock Trial competition, first place at the Louisiana State Science
Bowl, first place in computational biology at school, regional, and state fairs, and first place
in biomedical and health sciences at the Louisiana State Science Fair; and
WHEREAS, Raj Letchuman placed second in chemistry for the Louisiana State
Science Fair and second in the exhibit category for Louisiana State National History Day
competition; and
WHEREAS, Raj Letchuman placed third overall at the Louisiana State Junior
Science and Humanities Symposium and earned a one thousand dollar award for his
achievement; and
WHEREAS, Raj Letchuman served as the attorney general for Louisiana Boys State
in 2022 and as one of two Louisiana senators for Boys Nation 2022; and
WHEREAS, Raj Letchuman recently collaborated with Dr. Elahe Mahdavian, a
biochemistry professor at LSU Shreveport and Raj's research mentor, for his research project
entitled, Identifying Promising Drug Candidates Against SARS-CoV-2 Using Computational
Drug Repurposing Methodology; and
WHEREAS, Raj Letchuman has also published a research project entitled, Targeting
CaSR-GSH Interaction with Quinazolinone-Based Derivatives to Inhibit Angiogenesis; and
WHEREAS, through his diligent study and hard work, Raj Letchuman recently
qualified for the International Science and Engineering Fair in Dallas, Texas, to be held
May 14 – 19, 2023; and
WHEREAS, Raj Letchuman is one step closer to achieving his dream of becoming
an astronaut after earning a prestigious internship with NASA for the summer of 2023; and
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WHEREAS, Raj Letchuman plans to continue his education this Fall at
Yale University.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby commend Raj Letchuman on winning the Louisiana Student of the Year award.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Raj Letchuman.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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