Hometown:

Louisville, KY

Biography

A National AP Scholar and valedictorian, Neha graduated from duPont Manual High School, where she was president of her class and active in the Future Business Leaders of America Club. She placed first in the state of Kentucky on the level 6 National Spanish Exam, earning a Gold Medal, and was one of 16 in the nation awarded the NSE Global Citizenship Scholarship. She was active in the Latin American Hispanic Student Organization and served as president of the Kentucky Spanish Honor Society. Through the National Honor Society, she created an enrichment program for children at the local Volunteers of America shelter and tutored youngsters in elementary school programs. She was also a member of her school’s varsity lacrosse team. Active in Indian community organizations, she has studied Bharathanatyam, a classical style of Indian dance, for 14 years, performing in the United States and abroad, and speaks Tamil. A class on international relations and diplomacy that she took at the Kentucky Governor’s Scholars Program, in combination with her love of languages, has sparked her interest in studying public policy analysis, international business, international studies, and other languages.

She lives by Maya Angelou’s words, “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.”

Neha will hold the Thomas Charles Hutton Scholarship in the Wells Scholars Program.