Anjali Bhatia
Kinnelon, New Jersey

A Cash Donation in honor of Anjali Bhatia will be donated to Discover Worlds. Discover Worlds is an entirely student-run non-profit organization which encourages students and youth across the globe to make high impact changes to help their own community and make a global impact. Discover Worlds has programs that connect students and families in the United States to students in Rwanda, improving education by setting up sister-schools and finding sponsors for orphans of genocide and HIV/AIDS. For more information about Discover Worlds, log on to www.discoverworlds.org.

• Nominator: Matthew Pease, peer & co-worker
• Category: Non-Governmental Organization

Global Understanding

A world traveler by the age of four, Anjali Bhatia was exposed to many cultures, all of which played a role in her formative years. At age 6, while visiting grandparents in India, she recalls seeing children her own age begging on the streets instead of attending school. She remembers being ushered past impoverished and sickly patients to the front of a waiting room in an overcrowded doctor’s office. Soon, though only a child herself, Bhatia began confronting these inequities with her own acts of compassion, such as organizing a school fundraiser at age 9. She also collected clothes and computer games to bring to India. In high school, she was president and co-founder of the Habitat for Humanity club in her hometown. Through the entirely student-run NGO, Discover Worlds, founded by Bhatia at the age of 16, she has set up programs to promote relations between the U.S. and Rwanda.

Commitment & Impact

Discover Worlds programs focus on education to eradicate poverty by providing college/university fees to enable orphans of genocide and affected by HIV/AIDS to stay in school.

• “She has not let age deter her. Nor has she let doubts from others. To her, barriers are nothing but pauses because her passionate will and strength in leadership give her the drive and motivation to do what she loves most—helping people. Anjali’s potential is boundless and if her past achievements are to be an indication, the future will be brighter for all of us.” Anthony Marzocca, fellow student and volunteer. 

• “I’ve personally seen how the orphan sponsoring program in Rwanda can bud from just a donation to a full fledged friendship where students are able to connect from the U.S. to Rwanda over hip hop artists and love for french fries. I’ve also seen how the Discover Worlds chapter of Rwandan students has connected with Discover Worlds student leaders in the United States and they are able to share ideas on leadership, raising awareness, and more. These programs and friendships are due to Anjali’s creativity and energetic persistence.” Matthew W. Pease, fellow student and nominator.

Background

At her high school in Kinnelon, NJ, Anjali Bhatia demonstrated leadership.  She was Editor-in-Chief of the school newspaper, first President and co-founder of the Habitat for Humanity club in her town, Lead Lawyer and Team Captain on the Mock Trial, senior gold-awarded Girl Scout, and the student liaison to the Board of Education. She attended conferences such as the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Conference.  She continued to broaden her international experiences and knowledge by attending an international summer camp in Switzerland for three years and the prestigious New Jersey Governor’s School of International Studies. She graduated as Valedictorian from Kinnelon High School and was awarded a full scholarship as a Robertson Scholar at Duke University.  She spent her past summer engaged in service work in both New Orleans and Rwanda.

Now 19 years-old, Bhatia is studying Neuro-economics (a field applying neuroscience and psychology to further understand human’s behavior in economic principles such as game theory and altruism) at Duke University; and continues working to inspire young people to make a difference and bettering education for Rwanda students.