Real World Impact

Real World Impact

Real World Impact

Real World Impact

Heads Up

In high school, I cut off a limb intentionally. I cut off the limb that I created, sculpting the new body part with my phone and social media platforms. I decided that the limb was too toxic and that I would be better off with my simple two hands and two legs- I didn’t need the fancy limb that everybody was getting. After my mental health plummeted due to quantified popularity and restoration after attending Chinmaya International Residential School, a school that prohibited technology on campus, I went through an intense, harsh journey of self-discovery. I learned things about myself that I wouldn’t have with the aid of social media and developed traits like empathy and communication, traits that social media robbed from my middle school self. As a recovered addict, I could only imagine how many of my friends were going through the same thing, wrapping their fears and loneliness in a discreet blanket of filters and likes. I wanted to create change for my friends. Starting Heads Up was the way that I wanted to give back to high school communities and spread awareness about the unconscious usage of technology and the manipulative design of social media platforms. Heads Up (in its first year 2021-22) reached over 40 schools in 16 states across the United States of America.

Recognitions:

Recipient of Taco Bell Foundation Ambition Accelerator, recipient of Hershey’s Heartwarming Grant, recipient of Power of the Youth Grant, finalist in the LookUp Startup Innovation Challenge, finalist in T-Mobile Changemakers, recognized by Ashoka Changemakers.

Atharv

Growing up, I never knew what being an Indian meant. My parents, with a lingering connection with India, tried to foster a love for the country but it proved to be unsuccessful because of the tendency I had to revert back to Westernized traditions. After returning from India, I knew that I needed to make this change, allowing other Indian-Americans to feel the same love and connection my parents felt. Though some assimilation is needed in any new environment, the cultural erosion that has put India in the background was transformative. As a parent organization, Atharv hosted 2 initiatives, guiding and implementing projects defending Indic culture.

EcoDharma is an organization that is focused on environmental preservation and ABCD Hindi is a tool that is used to teach Hindi to the India-American diaspora.

INTERalliance

INTERalliance is a Cincinnati-based leadership council, sponsored by companies like Proctor & Gamble and General Electrics, that aims to bring more high school talent to IT-based fields. The INTERalliance leadership council consists of 30 highly-motivated youth in the IT field and focuses heavily on organizing TechOlympics, a weekend-long conference that brings different topics to the tables of high schoolers.

As a junior and first-year council member, I was selected to be a program-marketing correspondent (one of 30). As a programs-marketing correspondent, I worked between both the programs and marketing team in creating effective INTERalliance programming and representing INTERalliance in the best way possible. In my last year of INTERalliance, I was promoted to the INTERalliance Cabinet consisting of 5 members as Chief Marketing Officer. This position gave me more insight into the workings of the organization and allowed me to create a cohesive brand.

Girl Up, United Nations

Girl Up, United Nations Foundation is a United Nations Foundation initiative that advances girls’ rights and access to equality. When attending Chinmaya International, I founded Girl Up CIRS, a chapter of Girl Up that addresses systemic issues leading to gender inequality. After the COVID-19 pandemic, I wanted to continue with my fight against gender inequality. I was selected to become the Girl Up Ohio Coalition President. This opportunity allowed me to oversee all the Girl Up clubs within the Ohio region and work with other Coalition Presidents from other states in collaborative efforts. In addition to overseeing, I provided resources to aspiring leaders within the community (for example a regional newsletter that highlights the work of women that often goes unnoticed).

Ohio Attorney General Teen Ambassador Board

The Ohio Attorney General’s Teen Ambassador Board provides Ohio’s future leaders with an inside look at Ohio law and government. As one of the few selected from my region, I was able to connect with State legislators and representatives of Ohio. Each ambassador is assigned a mentor. My mentor, Assistant Attorney General Megan Nelson, I was also able to engage directly with Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and learn more about what he does.

As one of our only in-person outings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Teen Ambassadors were invited to the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus and met State Representatives and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

Wright Scholar, AFRL

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) offers stipend-paid internships for competitive high school students across the Nation. During the summer of 2022, I was selected as a Wright Scholar. As a Wright Scholar, I worked with the Gaming Research Integration for Learning Laboratory, an off-based Wright-Patterson facility (GRILL). Each GRILL intern was assigned to a research project for the summer. My research project’s client was Dr. Barry Goettl, Senior Research Psychologist of the Air Force Research Laboratory. In our time together, we created a flight simulation that tracked the varied reaction time and accuracy of fighter pilots due to external factors. This project was created with gaming technology, like Unreal Engine, and a virtual reality environment.

LookUp.live

LookUp.live is a digital well-being organization that accelerates the ambitions of youth in the digital well-being sphere. LookUp.live gave me the structure to ideate my own solutions to the digital addiction crisis through various opportunities. As a sophomore, I was selected to speak at the Youth for Youth Summit as a Mental Health panelist. I returned as a Panelist with Accountable Tech during the next Summit. After that, I was selected to serve as a Web Developer and Community Engagement Intern. It was here that I discovered the intersection between technology and digital well-being coined technology-for-good. After my internship during the summer of 2020, I joined the Youth Leadership Council and was selected to serve as Vice-Chair of the Council. I was promoted to Chair of the Council in 2021 and continued to serve as Chair until my senior year when I had to pass my role to ensure upward mobility in leadership roles.

Apart from my work at the LookUp headquarters centered in the US, I founded LookUp India. LookUp India engaged with Indian youth and talked about region-based issues in the digital wellbeing sphere.

  • Children’s Screentime Action Network Board Member

    • The Children’s Screentime Action Network is an organization working to promote digital well-being in kids and reduce the amount of time kids spend on social media. As a youth board member, one of two youth digital advocates, I represented youth on the Fairplay Children’s Screentime Action Network. I worked with other trailblazers in the field and provided input in Action Network initiatives.

  • Everyschool Student Intern

    • Everyschool is a Cincinnati-based organization that is focused on giving parents the resources to help their kids fight digital addiction. As a student intern, I worked on outreach and spoke with Parents of Everyschool groups to gauge interest.

  • Jean Rogers Intern

    • Jean Rogers, the executive of Fairplay, is a leading name in the digital well-being field. An advocate for children, Jean Rogers has impacted many kids and students across the globe. As her intern, I was able to get a glimpse into her life and manage some of the activities that she had.

  • NoSo November Web Developer

  • NoSo November is a campaign launched to promote no social media during the month of November. As a web developer, I created a website. Additionally, I created a brand and logo for NoSo, allowing for future developments.

  • Ashoka Changemaker Intern

    • Ashoka Changemaker accelerates student ambitions through feedback and resources. As an intern, I helped create a cohesive presence across Ashoka’s initiatives and create a cleaner brand.

  • Civics Unplugged Student Fellow

    • Civics Unplugged is an organization that promotes civic leadership by empowering high school students with training and community. As a Student Fellow, I was able to engage with other leading figures in the political science field and learn more about the tools to build the next steps of democracy.

  • GoYogi Social Media Manager

    • GoYogi is an organization that is focused on mental health by encouraging more students to incorporate meditation and yoga into their daily routines. As the Social Media Manager, I created and uploaded relevant posts that captured the essence of GoYogi programming

  • Legislate Web Developer

    • Legislate is an organization that encourages students to create bills and legislation on topics that they are passionate about. From this experience, I learned how to line code using HTML, CSS, and Javascript and used Github. I also learned how to integrate APIs (like LinkedIn API and Google API) and used UI/UX interface softwares.

  • UPFNA Web Developer

    • Universal Peace Foundation North America (UPFNA) is centered around yoga and community. As a web developer, I created a website on WordPress highlighting the organization and its events.

  • Life Parachute Web User Interface Developer

    • Lifeolicious, based in India, is an organization that is focused on spreading joy. The Founder of Lifeolicious, N Manjoo. Shree, wrote the book Life Parachute which is a self-help book for people attempting to pave their own road to fulfillment. I created a parallel course to the book, allowing readers to take their journey for happiness to the next level.

  • Raincheck Web Developer

    • Raincheck is a subscription-based, startup organization that brings self-care tools to a buyer’s home. Ranging from art supplies to masks, Raincheck spreads joy with people of all audiences. As a web developer, I created an e-commerce environment.

  • Ashia Graphic Designer

    • Ashia is a youth-for-youth organization based in India to help youth mental health. I helped create Instagram posts and got to know the inner workings of a youth-for-youth organization.