Dhruv Girish

High School Graduation Year: 2024
Year First Awarded the Carson Scholarship, School: 2023, Urbana High School
Sponsored by: Delaplaine Foundation

Dhruv, a 2-time Carson Scholar, believes in the power of taking risks and standing up for his community.  After a tragedy struck his community, Dhruv made it his mission to amplify the voices of those in need and serve as an advocate to create spaces where vulnerable groups could be heard.  Dhruv served on the Maryland Youth Advisory Council, representing over 900,000 students. He worked with local legislators to advocate for meaningful changes within schools and crafted, and secured, the passage of three key bills. One of these bills mandated the integration of special education awareness into school curriculums.  During the pandemic, Dhruv turned to his backyard to create a garden to help feed his family – a project that eventually led to him starting a community garden to help tackle food insecurity.  Through his nonprofit organization, Dhruv works to bring STEAM research to underserved communities and has studied the benefits of laughter on stress hormones and immune cells, showing that laughter can save lives.  He also organizes robotics programs and STEM workshops to engage students in hands-on learning, creativity and critical thinking. Dhruv strongly believes in the importance of living, laughing and learning – three acts that have the potential to impact families, communities and even the world.  Currently, Dhruv is studying biology, biotechnology and health economics as part of a seven-year BS/MD program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Albany Medical College.