My name is Ankita Sundar and I am a rising junior at Presentation High School in San Jose, California.
A passionate advocate for gender equality and quality education, I co-founded Digital Educate, a nonprofit organization, which aims to provide education and access to digital media to underprivileged youth. Digital Educate’s purpose is to dispel the gender disparities in STEM by encouraging girls’ participation in STEM activities. As a HundrED Global Youth Ambassador, I collaborate with like-minded changemakers around the world who are as passionate about shaping the future of education. I help promote youth engagement and participation by increasing cross-cultural communication.
As an advocacy board member for the UNA-USA Silicon Valley Chapter, I advocate on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of ensuring quality and equitable education (SDG 4) as well as bridging gender equality by empowering women and girls (SDG 5). I represent my community and help engage members in advocacy work by encouraging the need for women and girls’ equality in the world through promoting SDG events and speaking on advocacy calls with leaders in the political advocacy realm.
My passion for promoting girls’ education drew me to GEC’s mission.
I am so enthralled to start my work at GEC this summer. GEC’s mission to create a future where all girls are getting the education they seek and deserve strongly resonates with me. I believe that GEC can provide me with the opportunity to work with a developing country and aid me in understanding the adaptations students in Tanzania adjust to on a daily basis, especially through the unfortunate times the world is facing due to the pandemic. It is beyond heartwarming to see GEC’s role in successfully building and launching the ‘Kitenga Girls Secondary School’. I am eager to work alongside their mission to enrich these young girls with a strong, foundational education that can greatly impact their future. I am excited to learn how to run a successful nonprofit and what it takes to reshape and adjust to current global issues in the world. Working with GEC this summer is a perfect opportunity for me to understand the conditions of marginalized communities and to help empower young girls and achieve their lifelong dreams.