8C's
Here are 8 students who embody these skills and through their actions have shown the power of these skills to create change and their potential to make our world better.
Story of Compassion
For Thamanna and Shivani, Grade 10 students at Telangana State Model School, compassion began at home. When Shivani’s grandmother fell ill after taking the wrong medicines, they investigated and found many in their community, especially the elderly, illiterate, and visually impaired, faced the same problem.
Refusing to accept it as inevitable, they created the Eco-Friendly Medicine Timetable Bag, a low-cost paper-and-cloth bag with visual time indicators and Braille labels, helping patients take the right medicines without assistance. Tested with school workers and endorsed by ASHA workers, the design won the Telangana State Innovation Award.
For them, the award is just the beginning their dream is to scale the innovation so hospitals and clinics across India can make it accessible to all who need it.
-Thamanna and Shivani
Story of Curosity
For Vibhav Singh, a Grade 12 student at Aditya Birla World Academy, science was never just a subject it was a way to see the world. But he noticed that for many students, especially in underserved schools, rote learning was dimming the wonder of science.
Determined to change that, he created Science "Aas Paas" a hands on curriculum that uses a 3D interactive panel to bring everyday objects into the classroom. From see-saws to taps, students learn concepts like force, density, and pressure by tinkering and experimenting. True to its Hindi name, “Aas Paas” shows that science is all around us.
Today, his 3D panels are used in 60+ schools across India, from tribal classrooms near Nagpur to schools in Delhi. Vibhav’s work proves that one question. How can science feel more alive? can spark curiosity in hundreds of young minds.
Vibhav Singh
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Story of Creativity
For Maahir Jain, a Grade 12 student at Dhirubhai Ambani International School, creativity became the bridge between personal challenge and impact. Struggling with academic pressure, he explored study techniques to improve his own well-being then envisioned something bigger.
Combining his love for technology with a drive to help others, Maahir built WinNow, a free app for student productivity and mental wellness. Backed by a 6,000-word literature review, it turns 20 evidence-based techniques like the Feynman Technique and Memory Palace into interactive tools that help students study smarter while caring for their mental health.
Through NGO partnerships, he’s brought the app to 100+ underserved students. His vision: quality education that’s accessible, equitable, and tailored to every learner.
Maahir Jain
Story of Collaboration
Riya Chand, a Grade 12 student from Nanakmatta Public School in Uttarakhand, experienced firsthand what it meant to feel disconnected from her surroundings. While pursuing her education, she noticed a growing gap between students and their communities, between classrooms and the real world around them. This disconnection deepened during the pandemic, especially for children in rural villages, where access to joyful, engaging learning was limited.
To bridge that gap, Riya launched Community Library, a community-run learning space rooted in play, storytelling, and shared learning. Her vision was not just to improve reading and comprehension but to bring communities together. With reading circles, science fairs, film screenings, and cultural storytelling, the library became more than a learning hub, it became a space of belonging. Riya worked closely with parents, teachers, and local volunteers to create a centre that reflected the region’s values and celebrated its diversity.
With the support of 50 student leaders from her school, Riya and her friends run libraries across 23 villages in the Nanakmatta region. Each centre is a reflection of collective effort where learning is joyful, inclusive, and community-led. Riya’s journey reminds us that education thrives not in isolation, but in connection. And when we come together to learn, we also come together to grow.
Riya Chand
Story of Critical Thinking
For Subhashine Rout, the journey began with a personal struggle. In 2021, she felt overwhelmed by routines and tangled in endless planning. Searching for structure, she discovered the power of reflection and realized others might be facing the same challenge. Teaming up with two friends, she created Moksh, a student-led initiative to build problem-solving skills in young people.
Founded on the idea that problem-solving is about how we think, not quick fixes, Moksh developed a step-by-step approach focusing on analysis, decision-making, and creative thinking. A survey revealed most students valued these skills but had never been taught them. Through workshops, hands-on techniques, and open discussions, they reached 50+ students, making thinking visible and solutions possible. What began as personal confusion became a shared space for growth.
Subhashine’s leadership lay not just in building a program, but in identifying a real need and responding thoughtfully. Moksh shows that when young people think critically, they turn problems into opportunities for learning and leadership.
Subhashine Rout
Story of Courage
For as long as Anisha could remember, menstruation in her community was a shameful secret whispered about behind closed doors, sanitary pads hidden away, and questions silenced. At 15, she decided to break that silence. She launched Menstruation Matters, a student-led movement challenging stigma and spreading awareness. Surveys revealed myths among students, parents, and teachers. Partnering with Menstrupedia, she led workshops, mobilized 40+ volunteers, staged street plays, and created podcasts to reach wider audiences. She learned that courage isn’t standing alone it’s standing together.
Today, she leads Periods Across Generations, bringing mothers and daughters into open conversations about menstruation and menopause. Through film screenings, real-life storytelling, and a self-published magazine, she is creating a world where girls don’t have to whisper, and generations learn from each other.
Anisha’s journey proves that when young people are trusted as changemakers, they can spark lasting social change. Once a girl with unanswered questions, she is now a leader with powerful answers determined that no girl will ever feel shame for something so natural.
Anisha
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Story of Communication
Arya Vachhani, a Grade 11 student from Fountainhead School, Surat, discovered the power of her voice through public speakingand chose to use it to build confidence in others. Studying in an IB school, she became aware of the stark gap in opportunities for self-expression between her peers and students in public and government schools.
To bridge this, Arya launched Speak to Lead, a public speaking initiative empowering underserved students to communicate with confidence. For her, communication is more than a skill it’s a tool for empowerment, leadership, and change. Through interactive sessions on social taboos, menstruation, and the Sustainable Development Goals, she helps students build not just confidence, but awareness and empathy.
So far, Arya has reached 400+ students across three Gujarat schools, helping them find courage in their voice and pride in their stories. Her journey proves that true communication isn’t just about being heard it’s about helping others be heard too.
Arya Vachhani
Story of Consciousness
Abdul Rehman, a Grade 8 student from Kankaria Public School, Ahmedabad, has been visually impaired since birth—but never let that limit his curiosity. His passion for technology fuels a vision of a more inclusive digital world.
While teaching himself coding and computer skills, Abdul noticed many classmates lacked the same opportunities. With support from his Teach For India Fellows and school team, he secured laptops and devices, and began leading computer literacy sessions turning each day into a shared learning space.
Abdul’s story is a reflection of conscious leadership: rooted in lived experience, grounded in empathy, and focused on equity. His vision is not just about learning code it’s about creating a world where no student is held back by barriers, and where technology becomes a tool for dignity, independence,
and inclusion
Abdul Rehman
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