In 2024, I was honored with National Recognition by the Princeton Prize in Race Relations for my work in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

The following is a reflection on my work and philosophy:

I spent elementary and middle school in a predominantly white gifted program at public schools. As one of the few students of color in my cohort, I felt pressured to leave behind my cultural background to fit in with my white peers. From a young age, I was aware of the lack of racial diversity in the gifted cohort compared to the general education program and the division it created within the student body. In 6th grade, I wrote an essay on the racialized management of disciplinary issues and was elected to a student advocacy board. For two years until COVID, I worked with my peers to raise student concerns to administrators. To my frustration, none of our reform proposals were enacted.

Arriving at my private high school, I was shocked at the administration’s receptiveness to student feedback. Although a predominantly white institution, the lack of program-based division in the student body meant that for the first time in my life, I had South Asian peers. This school was everything I had thought I wanted, but I still felt isolated. I was forced to reckon with the fact that literal racial diversity alone is not sufficient to foster a sense of belonging and compassion.

Representing my school at the Student Diversity Leadership Conference the following year, I developed my personal DEI philosophy, but I also reconnected with my younger self, a little girl who had been convinced she could not show up whole. With newfound mental clarity, I recognized my responsibility to establish structural change to foster a truly equitable and inclusive community. At home, I turned my efforts to the South Asian Affinity Groups, determined to create safe spaces for others to find radical belonging, and to our school constitution, creating the EICL co-chair positions to support student advocacy.

My greatest challenge has been penetrating my school's pervasive culture of silence. In my freshman year, I was a stranger to a cohort that had largely been together since middle school. Within the first few months, I was ostracized for calling out the equity and inclusion issues I saw within the student body. Competitive academics and small social circles created an atmosphere where students brushed off any interpersonal conflicts that would single them out.

Over long, lonely months, I found mentors in upperclassmen and faculty who were active in the DEI space. Over two years of attending the nationwide Student Diversity Leadership Conference, I connected with thousands of peers who, despite sharing my experiences of isolation, had persevered to generate change. Inspired by their resilience, I continued to advocate for the creation of institutionalized systems to promote equity. Along the way, I encountered other students who had felt pressured into silence. Gradually, my role shifted from mentee to mentor.

Building relationships is key to shifting a culture towards mutual respect and understanding, but as an outsider, this has taken patience. Faced with the pressing reality of the harm bias incidents cause, I am often frustrated by the slow pace of establishing new norms. This has been my growth edge as I have stepped into leadership positions. Ultimately, I know that much of the large-scale change I am advocating will not be achieved within my four short years of high school. For every step toward promoting racial equity and understanding, there is a temporary conservative backlash. Every push toward establishing formalized policies is hampered by administrative bureaucracy. Although change is a slow process, I am proud of the impact I have made on my community, the lessons I have learned, and the relationships I have forged.

While a core contingent of student leaders drives diversity, equity, and inclusion work in my school community, many students view this work as secondary to academics. Yet, it is this work that allows students to show up for learning fully. This year, I worked with a committee of students and faculty to host a day of workshops prompting students to engage with equity work. In my final workshop of the day, I found myself discussing personal vulnerability in a community context with a group of students who had been unfamiliar that morning. We realized that fostering respect and understanding requires each of us to step outside our comfort zones and forge connections. Takeaways like this, shared by many students, expanded the impact of the day.

Another element of creating belonging in academic environments is embedding diversity in curriculums. In the past year, the addition of classes like Modern South Asian History and Literature has allowed a significant portion of the school community to see themselves represented in the content they learn in the classroom. As the lead of the South Asian affinity groups, I have also been able to collect students’ feedback and work with teachers to ensure the perspectives they present in class are authentic and varied.

In the past year, my school has begun to shift toward restorative justice practices. As an EICL co-chair, I have been in conversation with administrators throughout the process to lobby for student concerns. As I came to understand the disciplinary philosophies of the Heads of School, my co-chair and I were able to emphasize the importance of establishing explicit community norms around bias incidents. Although we did not consult directly on it, the school has recently adopted a new anti-bias statement, institutionalizing a formal support system for students to report bias incidents.

Equity and belonging work in a community cannot depend on specific individuals. Thus, my priority in the past four years has been to create institutionalized change by establishing structures of student-administrator communication and codified positions for future student leaders to step into. Safe spaces like Affinity Groups and equity-related clubs will allow students to celebrate the diversity and resilience of our community, while the EICL co-chair positions will empower students to drive the dialogue of progress. I have no doubt that future generations of changemakers will continue the work I have started and find their own voices.