Doing Right Spotlight Scholarship: Prathik Kandimalla
Scott Savage, Aly Sterling, Prathik Kandimalla
Prathik Kandimalla, on behalf of Aly Sterling Philanthropy
At age seven, I began volunteering for Chess Without Borders by setting up equipment and selling food at chess tournaments. In recognition of my meticulous work ethic, the director Dr. Kiran Frey offered me the larger role of a volunteer coordinator. I organized philanthropic dinners to raise funds and awareness for various societal problems, such as human trafficking. Dedicating hundreds of hours to designing service events, I received three presidential volunteer service awards throughout high school.
What I value most from my experience volunteering for Chess Without Borders is improving my understanding of global issues. Learning of a childhood friend recently affected by human trafficking opened my eyes to its existence and impact on society. As a volunteer coordinator, I based my first event on human trafficking and brought affected victims and detectives to speak on the issue. I was shocked by the number of attendees unaware of human trafficking’s impact right here in the United States. Realizing I likely was also ignorant of many other worldwide problems, I yearned to learn more.
Given our history of humanitarian projects and overall mission, I represented Chess Without Borders at the 2015 United Nations Youth Assembly. There, I learned that many global issues stem from the lack of understanding between the numerous cultures that exist in the world. Moving forward, I strived to continue learning of various backgrounds to serve others better.
In one philanthropic project I led, I traveled to multiple villages in India and asked people of all ages what they thought could improve their community. While individuals from most towns asked for more food, clothing, or money, one neighborhood, the Govindpuri slums—caught my attention. These residents instead primarily asked for a lasting contribution to improving education for future generations. After speaking with my supervisor, we proposed and oversaw the construction of a technology center. One villager, who had recently given birth to her first child, was in tears of joy as she told me we had given her hope for a better future for the community.
My experience has made me realize the importance of education, empowerment, and giving back to society. I intend to dedicate myself to humanitarian causes and community service in my future medical career.
Since the technology center opened, hundreds of children have had greater access to educational resources to become better socialized in the modern, ever-changing world. My experience in this project has also impacted me deeply.
With my desire to care for marginalized communities, I added an entrepreneurship business minor during college and plan to pursue a Master’s in Business Administration shortly after attaining a Doctor of Medicine degree. While becoming a physician has been a career aspiration of mine for many years, I have always yearned to use innovation to create a widespread impact. Over the last nine months, I founded and grew KandiMED, a non-profit, to improve healthcare access and sustainability in underserved communities worldwide. As a future physician, I envision growing KandiMED to improve healthcare systems globally and guide meaningful change in medicine.
