Divaa Uthkarsha, a 16-year-old science student at the National Academy for Learning in Bengaluru from the southern Indian state of Karnataka and mental health campaigner Alanna Sethi, 20, from Canada have been named among the top 10 finalists for the $100,000 Chegg.org Global Student Prize 2024.
They have been selected from over 11,000 nominations from across 176 countries, with others among the top 10 are high-achieving students from Mexico, Turkey, Argentina, Singapore, Poland, Brazil, the US and UAE.
Heather Hatlo Porter, Chegg’s Chief Communications Officer, said: “I am thrilled to congratulate Divaa on becoming a top 10 finalist. This honour not only reflects your outstanding achievements but also stands as a testament to the brighter future you’re actively shaping for all of us, day by day.
“Chegg is committed to its Student First mission. Through the Global Student Prize, we shine a spotlight on inspiring students from around the world, giving them an opportunity to share their stories, connect with one another, and have their voices heard. Now, more than ever, students like Divaa deserve recognition, as their dreams, creativity, and remarkable endeavours are essential to tackling the urgent challenges facing our world.”
Divaa Uthkarsha
At the age of 13, Divaa founded what is now one of India’s largest youth-led non-profit organizations raising awareness of Type 1 diabetes (T1D) and aiding underprivileged children with the same condition through awareness, advocacy and funding. In just three years, with a team of 85 volunteers from across the globe and a mixture of diabetes education workshops, free healthcare counselling and healthcare worker training, Divaa has reached 450,000 people, taking diabetes awareness to the grassroots of India to aid with early diagnosis and community welfare. She has also taken practical steps to make insulin more available – fundraising 1,250,000 rupees to buy 6,000 insulin vials, glucose strips and syringes for 900+ children in Indian villages and organising free medical camps.
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After her younger brother Surya’s T1 diabetes diagnosis in 2021, Divaa saw the challenges first-hand and was inspired to start Project Surya to help other children access the best of the care they deserve. Project Surya has now turned into a global movement assisting low-income families from remote areas and villages battling Type 1 Diabetes. She and her army of volunteers have developed and presented comprehensive diabetes education modules, developed with doctors and dieticians, in person to 250,000 school children across India. Through national campaigns and fundraising events in collaboration with local legislators and governments, Project Surya has enabled children battling with T1 diabetes to lead a life of dignity and confidence. Divaa is also a BCV advocate under the International Diabetes Federation.
Divaa is now working to expand Project Surya globally, with multiple chapters in India and abroad. Project Surya has also been shortlisted for the Global Sustainability Prize, advancing youth voices for sustainable development. Her chief goal is to reach five million people directly – advocating for tax-free insulin and collaborating with corporates to raise funds to sponsor life-saving insulin.
Alanna Sethi
As a young person with mental health conditions, Alanna is incredibly passionate about early intervention and prevention to reduce the distress and impact mental health can have on young people's lives and help them instead flourish. Alanna is the CEO and founder of HOPE (Helping Our Planet Earth), a youth-led non-profit organisation which she uses to make mental health support available to young people internationally through mental health education, peer support and youth leadership training. Alanna’s challenges in moving abroad for her education have given her a global perspective and insight into the difficulties others face and the potential obstacles to finding a sense of self and community. However, she has been successful in finding support, and wishes to become a clinical psychologist herself so she can help young people with similar difficulties.
As the leader of HOPE, Alanna supervises a team of four permanent youth staff, providing them with professional mentorship and supervision, peer support, and academic advice. Up to 15 part-time youth volunteers also work for HOPE, all of them full-time high school or undergraduate students aged 16 to 24 from various countries around the world. Informing HOPE’s work, Alanna is conducting research on linguistic equity to increase accessibility to education for people with disabilities and BIPOC communities, as well as investigating prevention-focused mental health interventions for young people. This has the aim of reducing stigma around mental health and facilitating culturally sensitive mental health conversations across all communities.
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In 2024 alone, Alanna received the Jackman Humanities Institute Scholar-in-Residence, Dean’s List Scholar and Sustainable Action Award at the University of Toronto, the Laidlaw Undergraduate Leadership and Research Scholarship from the Laidlaw Foundation and was named a winner of the Youth Leaders Award by Global Citizen. Previously, she was the recipient of Bronze and Silver Awards in the Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition for 2020 and 2021 respectively. Alanna is also a creative writer and is currently writing a fictional novel looking at the impacts of mental health on interpersonal relationships, as well as planning a narrative non-fiction book on youth mental health advocacy in the Asia-Pacific region to inspire other young people to pursue advocacy work.
The winner of this year’s prize is expected to be announced in New York later this month during the UN General Assembly week and will be chosen from the top 10 finalists by the Global Student Prize Academy, made up of prominent individuals worldwide.
*Info: Global Student Prize 2024