Hometown: Plainsboro, NJ
Bio: Having lived in India for 12 years, Athokshay is beyond excited to help find and get involved with local NGOs through BUILD:India, and make a difference in places that desperately need it. As a freshman studying Computer Engineering at Tufts University, he hopes to expand his horizons and challenge himself by undertaking this venture.
Hometown: Acton, MA
Bio: Janani Baskaran is a junior Biomedical Engineer with a minor in Engineering Management. Throughout her years from high school into college, Janani has gained lots of interest in sustainable development and working with NGOs that promote education, health, and sanitation. She travelled with BUILD India to Tamil Nadu in January 2017, and has been on the club since her freshman year. She is very excited to see where the journey of BUILD takes her, and looking forward to find a new NGO.
Hometown: East Setauket, NY
Bio: Kristina Chu is a junir studying environmental engineering with a passion for public health issues and learning more about sustainable development. She visited BUILD: India's partner NGO Payir during the summer of 2016, when trip members assessed community needs through a village survey. She is looking forward to another year of insightful discussions on international sustainable development work in the non-profit sector.
Hometown: Tampa, FL
Bio: Elizabeth Corn is a first year pre-med student hoping to study biology and international relations at Tufts. Elizabeth has had exposure to topics in sustainable development through her global studies track in high school, and completed her cumulative senior thesis on the subject of sustainable global health implementation. She is extremely excited to begin working with BUILD, gain new experiences in sustainable development, and collaborate with the other members of the club to find a new NGO and make an impact on struggling communities in India.
Hometown: Truckee, CA
Bio: Ayden is a freshman at Tufts and hopes to study International Relations or Global Health. He has experience with sustainable development in several clubs he participated in High School. He is also a member of Amnesty International at Tufts. He is excited to work with BUILD India to promote sustainable development in the region and he is also excited to be able to work in partnership with the Institute for Global Leadership.
Hometown: Arcadia, CA; Hyderabad, India
Bio: Srinitha is a fourth-year student studying Political Science and Community Health. She has been involved in BUILD: India since her freshman year and has gone on the June 2015 and January 2017 trips to Thottiyapatti. BUILD has allowed her to gain new understandings of the ethical implications of development and the politics of 'behavior change' and reconceptualize definitions of 'sustainable development.' Most importantly, BUILD has given her the privilege of meeting people that live, think, and work differently.
Hometown: Munster, IN
Bio: Siddharth is a third-year student studying International Relations, Sociology, and Colonialism studies. He has been involved in BUILD: India since his first year and has gone on the Summer 2016 and Winter 2017 trips, the latter of which he led. BUILD has provided Siddharth an outlet to discuss the various ethical issues surrounding development (a field he is considering entering in the future) as well as experience abroad within a semi-familiar culture, as his mother’s family is from Tamil Nadu. He is excited about exploring opportunities with new foreign NGOs this year.
Hometown:Rhinebeck, NY
Bio: Shoshana is a sophomore at Tufts studying international relations and history. She is very interested in studying sustainable development and promoting education initiatives in underdeveloped regions. She is very excited to learn more about development, specifically in rural India, and to explore relationships with NGOs.
Hometown: Westwood, MA
Bio: Abinav is a junior studying Applied Mathematics and Biology. He has not yet gone on a trip to Tamil Nadu, but he hopes to go on one in the near future. He does not have a strong background in sustainable development, but through his interactions and discussions with BUILD, he has learned a lot about the topic. He is very excited to work together with his peers to find a new NGO to partner with.
Hometown: Wilton, CT
Bio: Vivian Hong is a third year pre-med student studying computer science and cognitive and brain science. She has been involved with BUILD: India since her freshman year and visited Thottiyapatti and BUILD: India's partner NGO, Payir, in January of 2017. Her interest in sustainable development and non-profit work in general has been enriched in the past two years through important ethical conversations surrounding sustainable development work and through learning and understanding some of the struggles of this work when it comes to the intersections of mental/emotional well-being and cultural relativism. She looks forward to learning about and working through the portions of sustainable development work that focuses on phasing out of and entering into communities.
Hometown: Des Plaines, IL
Bio: Lawson is a freshman at Tufts University in the School of Engineering and is likely to pursue Mechanical Engineering as a major. He is a first-generation student who immigrated from India, and decided to join Build:INDIA as a way to help communities back in his nation of origin through the sustainable development model. He looks forward to helping the club in its path to expand and find more non-governmental organizations to work with.
Hometown: Southington, CT
Bio: Kristen Mathew is a freshman student who is current on the pre-med track. In high school, she had experience working with “Compassion International” NGO’s in Mexico that promoted health and sanitation in impoverished areas. She is excited to provide aid to such communities in India, as well as continue to develop her passion for sustainable development.
Hometown: Somers, NY
Bio: Hannah Norowitz is a first year student at Tufts who is currently on the pre-med track and hopes to study biology. She has some previous experience with sustainable development but is excited to learn more and delve further into this field of work. She couldn't be more eager to work with BUILD, get to know everyone in the club, and begin researching major issues in India as well as new NGOs for the club to work with.
Hometown: Cleveland, OH
Bio: Morgan Parker is a first year student from Cleveland, Ohio, and she hopes to study community health and linguistics at Tufts. She hasn’t had a lot of experience with sustainable development, but she is excited to work with BUILD: India this year and help find a new NGO partner for the organization. She hopes to pursue her interest in global health, as well as learn more about other components of sustainable development, through BUILD.
Hometown: Short Hills, NJ
Bio: Neel Sambamurthy is currently a freshman at Tufts. He has a lot of background doing community service work, ranging from volunteering with the Red Cross, organizing blood drives, and creating fundraisers for a local non-profit organization (Family Assistance Resource Center). His parents grew up in Tamil Nadu, and he has visited the state numerous times, so this is an organization that really matters to him. He does not have much experience with sustainable development, but he hopes that joining this club will build his knowledge in this area. He hopes to gain a leadership position in the club and take on the fundraising responsibility.
Hometown: Atherton, CA
Bio: Ashwini Shankar is a freshman studying International Relations. She has worked with sustainable development since middle school through the organization “Free the Children.” Through this club, she has coordinated numerous events and fundraisers for overseas campaigns. She is looking forward to being in an organization that continues this work in a familiar community and has the exciting opportunity to partner with a new NGO.