George Washington High’s Heart Club making a difference within the school and the community

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By Manvitha Sanjaya, President of the George Washington High Heart Club

On May 28, the GWHS Heart Club hosted a hands-only CPR and AED demonstration for Anatomy and Physiology students at George Washington High School. Heart Club president Manvitha Sanjaya led the training, teaching students how to perform chest compressions and how to operate an automated external defibrillator in the event of a cardiac emergency.

Students practiced on CPR training dummies and AED trainers that the Heart Club acquired through the American Heart Association’s Nation of Lifesavers™ Grant, a competitive national award Manvitha applied for and secured in December. GW was one of just 33 high schools and colleges selected across the country to receive the grant, alongside institutions including University of Michigan, Cornell University, and The University of Texas at Austin. The grant provided the club with the equipment needed to bring demonstrations like this one directly into classrooms. Through the grant, the club has already begun expanding its impact: on May 16, five Heart Club members became officially CPR certified in preparation for leading future trainings and demonstrations in the school and community.


During the session, Manvitha walked students through the key components of hands-only CPR: proper hand placement on the center of the chest, compression depth, and maintaining a pace of 100 to 120 beats per minute. Students utilized the inflatable dummies to practice the technique themselves. The AED portion of the training covered how to power on the device, where to place the pads on a patient, and how to follow the step-by-step audio prompts the machine provides during an emergency.


Manvitha’s commitment to CPR education is personal. She lost her grandfather to a heart attack when no one nearby knew how to perform CPR. This drove her to start the Heart Club at GW, the first high school Heart Club in West Virginia. Her goal from the beginning has been to make sure that gap in knowledge doesn’t cost someone else their life.

“If someone you know collapses near you, it’s important to know how to properly react in those sudden situations. We want to ensure students at GWHS and other schools in Kanawha County, as well as members of the broader community, understand that they have the ability to help save a life.”

Manvitha Sanjaya

President, George Washington High Heart Club



The May 28 demonstration is part of a broader effort by the Heart Club to expand CPR awareness throughout Kanawha County. Using the training equipment provided by the grant, the club plans to continue bringing demonstrations into classrooms and community spaces in the months ahead.