Although he still is in the process of completing his own college and scholarship applications, Ashish Thakur has already made a generous contribution toward opportunities for other students to pursue their goals of higher education at Stanislaus State.
The 15-year-old junior at Modesto High School - where he is a part of the International Baccalaureate program - has participated in workshops, classes and projects at Stanislaus State nearly every year since he was in first grade. He was a student of the HiMap mathematics program, the Central Valley Writing project, numerous summer writing programs and he also found support from Stan State faculty members on STEM research projects.
The encouragement and education he received as a young student in these programs inspired him to give back. He advocated for financial support with businesses and organizations in the community and as a result he made a $10,000 gift to Stanislaus State to establish the Ashish Thakur Science Foundation Scholarship. The scholarship will help students from underserved backgrounds who are pursuing their education in the Family Nurse Practitioner Program.
'Creating this scholarship opportunity for students in the FNP program - many who are the primary financial supports of their families - will allow them to remain focused on their studies and lead to greater success in accomplishing certification,' said Carolyn Martin, graduate program director in Stanislaus State's School of Nursing.
'Ultimately, the goal is to increase the number of FNPs in our service area, which is in dire need of primary care providers,' Martin said.
As an advocate for health education and access to health care in our region, Thakur has also pursued science research with the support of faculty members in the College of Science at Stanislaus State. Together with his sister Shivani, Thakur worked on a research project with Stan State Biology Professor Mark Grobner on a radiofrequency thermal ablation model, which has surgical applications in vein therapy and health. Shivani subsequently wrote a paper on their research which was submitted and published in the scientific journal, The American Surgeon.
Even as a young student seeking opportunities for learning at Stan State, Ashish said he always felt like he belonged, was supported and was welcome on campus and as a part of the Warrior community.
Thakur hopes to show how K-12 students in the region can benefit from programs and activities offered at Stan State and to raise awareness and visibility for those programs. He is also creating his own programs and events to provide educational opportunities for youth.
Thakur's interest in technology and computer coding led him to create a program to benefit underserved youth. He started Kids Who Code, a summer program where he teaches computer coding to junior high aged youth from underserved communities. He said his goal is to inspire them to get interested in coding because it is a skill that can open up new career pathways for them.
Promoting awareness about the prevalence of diabetes among youth is an important health education topic for Ashish. He is currently working on a project called Educate to Eradicate DM II to raise awareness and provide education about Type II diabetes, particularly for families from underserved backgrounds. He has established social media presence, a website and authored a book titled Growing Rates of Type II Among Teenagers. He speaks out often to community organizations and leaders and is planning an educational event about healthy eating and its value in avoiding preventable diseases.
Thakur is a recipient of the prestigious National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) scholarship offered by the U.S. State Department to learn Mandarin during a six-week immersive stay this summer in Chengdu, China. He hopes to 'understand the factors that are causing the rates of diabetes mellitus to increase in China's youth' so he can share what he learns there with youth groups at risk here.