Indian mental health campaigner among Global Student Prize top 10 finalists

London, September 2

A 20-year-old Indian student, who is also a mental health campaigner, has been named among the top 10 finalists for the Chegg.org Global Student Prize 2022, a USD one lakh award for an exceptional student who makes a real impact on learning and society.

Anagha Rajesh, a student at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Goa, was selected from over 7,000 nominations and applications from across 150 countries.

She is a researcher, storyteller and community builder who has worked on multiple projects, ranging from nutrition to mental health advocacy to entrepreneurship.

As Founder and CEO of youth-led mental health non-profit Yours Mindfully, she aims to bridge the awareness, inclusion and accessibility gap in the mental health space.

“Together with my team at Yours Mindfully, I hope to shine a light on the importance of ensuring young people everywhere have access to personalised mental health resources,” said Rajesh, following her confirmation as a finalist this week.

“I also want to congratulate all the other top 10 finalists from around the world, who are helping shape our world for the better. Young people’s voices must be heard,” she said.

Through Yours Mindfully, Rajesh works with a team of 40 young people from across India, the UAE, Africa, and the UK who advocate for mental health inclusion. Earlier this year, Yours Mindfully collaborated with the Malala Fund on a mental health resource pack for female activists.

The group is currently curating personalised resource packs for students at different schools, building wellbeing boot camps for young people, and launching a chapter of Yours Mindfully in Egypt. It recently launched an emotional wellbeing toolkit in response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the burnout that the news of this crisis was causing.

“Now, more than ever, students like Anagha deserve to have their stories told and have their voices heard. After all, we need to harness their dreams, their insights, and their creativity to tackle the daunting and urgent challenges facing our world,” said Dan Rosensweig, CEO and president of edtech Chegg.

The top 10 finalists also include Indian-origin Gitanjali Rao from the US and Kenisha Arora from Canada.

The UK-based Varkey Foundation partnered with Chegg.org to launch the Global Student Prize last year. It was established as an annual award to create a new platform that shines a light on the efforts of extraordinary students around the world.

The prize is open to all students who are at least 16-year-old and enrolled in an academic institution or training and skills program. Part-time students as well as students enrolled in online courses are also eligible for the prize.

The winner is expected to be announced later this month during the UN General Assembly week in New York.