NE EDUCATION BUREAU
NEW YORK, APRIL 26
The trustees of The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans on April 14 announced its cohort of 2020 Fellows, which included seven Indian American students — Ahmedabad-born Riana Shah, Pooja Reddy, Abijith Krishnan, Meena Jagadeesan, Akhil Iyer, Sanath Devalapurkar and Shyam Akula, a release said.
The fellowship, a merit-based graduate school programme for immigrants and children of immigrants, chose the 30 Fellows from a pool of 2,211 applicants, a record-breaking number.
The class was selected for their potential to make significant contributions to the United States. They will each receive up to $90,000 in funding over two years to support their graduate studies.
“At a time when all forms of immigration are under attack, it’s more important than ever to be celebrating the achievements and contributions of immigrants and refugees from across the world,” said Craig Harwood, who directs the Fellowship programme. “Our country and universities are enriched by the ingenuity that comes from abroad and the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellows are a perfect demonstration of that.”
Speaking to navjeevanexpress.com, Riana Shah, who is pursuing her MBA (Master of Business Administration) from MIT and MPA (Master of Public Administration) from Harvard University, said, “I moved to Queens, New York from Ahmedabad, Gujarat State in India with my mother and little sister when I was 14-years-old. I will receive, along with other awardees, up to $90,000 in funding over two years to support my graduate studies.”
Critical thinking is her forte
After Shah’s move to the US in 2007, while attending Bard High School Early College, she felt empowered to think critically about complex world issues. She saw how the education system in India discouraged students to develop their own opinion, turning them into bystanders who overlooked injustices in society.
Sets up an education reform venture
During her undergraduate degree at Swarthmore College, she decided to bring her skills to India through an organization she founded named Independent Thought and Social Action International (ITSA). It was an education reform venture that aimed to teach students critical thinking and social innovation skills. ITSA has worked across 19 cities and 11 countries, impacting over 100,000 people.
After working in education reform for some time, Riana has also worked in technology, venture capital, and innovation strategy working with public and private institutions. She now leads Ethix.AI, an artificial intelligence upskilling company that combats algorithmic bias.
A leader in the making
At Harvard, Shah is a Zuckerman Fellow at the Center for Public Leadership and is part of the From Harvard Square to the Oval Office Program, which prepares promising female candidates to run for office.
Shah’s work has been featured in the Huffington Post, Women of Influence, and Google’s Generation In Project, and she is the podcast host of Venture Vignettes. She has spoken at the United Nations, the U.S. State Department, and the International Forum on Child Welfare.
In addition to receiving up to $90,000 in funding for the graduate program of their choice, Shah also joins the prestigious community of recipients from past years. The active alumni network includes former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, and head of the Stanford’s Artificial Intelligence initiative Fei Fei Li and more than 650 other Global leaders.
Founded by Hungarian immigrants, Daisy M. Soros and her late husband Paul Soros (1926-2013), The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans programme honors continuing generations of immigrant contributions to the United States.
