Star Ashburn Student Is A Speaker, Entrepreneur, And Activist

ASHBURN, VA — Star Students are found in classrooms, on concert and theater stages and at debate lecterns, and out in the community doing good things to make life better for all of us.

Here at Patch, we've launched an initiative to help recognize Star Students, and we’re working to tell the stories of these outstanding kids to their neighbors.

This submission comes from Jayasri Rajesh who nominated Esha of Ashburn. Esha was previously featured on Patch in 2021 after she won an award for a project promoting kindness and empathy.

Know an outstanding student? Nominate them here.

Star local student’s name

Esha - 12th Grade/Broad Run High School

Star local student’s home state

Ashburn, Virginia

How do you know the star local student?

NEST4US Volunteer

Why do you believe the star local student should be recognized?

Esha Venkat is a senior at Broad Run High School and the co-founder & COO of NEST4US, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, formed as a philanthropic platform built upon kindness, generosity, and social good. Their mission is to make the world better through kindness by mobilizing volunteers worldwide to advance progress on societal issues and spark equitable solutions for the greater good. Through five core programs, they tackle over 14 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and a plethora of societal issues including global hunger, climate change, quality education, poverty, mental health, equity, and more.

What started as a small project has now become a global movement of over 5,000 volunteers of all ages and backgrounds who altogether have contributed over 2.1 million dollars in value of volunteer hours, impacting tens of thousands in 30+ countries across 6 continents.

At NEST4US, they not only supply essential resources such as nutritious meals, blessing bags containing toiletries and PPE, and academic materials, but also societal awareness through interactive workshops, and social media engagement to spur words into action. Most importantly, they foster a sense of community fueled by love and compassion, by providing an overarching support system for each and every individual they come across. This dual approach of awareness and action enables them to fulfill their vision of empowering people of all demographics to create a more inclusive world.

As international speaker, entrepreneur, humanitarian, and Gen-Z activist, Esha has contributed 4000+ hours of service over the past decade transforming countless lives by utilizing multifaceted approaches to advance social progress worldwide.

To her, a true leader is someone who not only positively impacts people, but also inspires them to take charge themselves. Over the past twelve years, she has carried this mindset into everything she has indulged in—the arts, as the lead dancer in her hip-hop & kathak teams and 3rd-degree black belt and assistant instructor in martial arts, sports, as the captain of her soccer team & certified referee, academics, as Class of 2023 salutatorian and honor roll student with a 4.85 GPA, and service, as an active leader in numerous global philanthropic and student-led organizations.

Since childhood, Esha has faced many hardships stemming from systemic inequality being a Gen-Z Indian-American female entrepreneur. However, she has turned her pain into purpose by creating NEST4US as an inclusive multifaceted hub of service opportunities built upon mutual respect, empathy, and kindness, through which she connects communities worldwide by devising innovative solutions rooted in intergenerational, intercultural, & intersectional change.
As Points of Light Network Leader, Giving Tuesday Chapter Head, Be Strong Global Representative, World Wildlife Fund First Citizen Scientist, DoSomething Representative, Riley’s Way Foundation Mentor, Good Deeds Day Ambassador, Civics Unplugged Fellow, and Global Peace Delegate, Esha drives comprehensive social reform by working with change agents across all levels and advocate for an integrated approach to the world’s most pressing issues.

She has empowered individuals to use their power to drive nondiscriminatory grassroots change by advocating for the Global Goals at hundreds of conferences, panels and summits at renowned venues including The Gates Foundation, The King Center, Points of Light, Facebook Headquarters, Giving Tuesday, Lead National Conferences, PeaceJam, etc. Additionally, her philanthropic endeavors have garnered much respect and recognition across the Commonwealth of Virginia, the United States, and on international platforms, as found here: https://www.nest4us.org/about-meet-the-founders.html, with her story having been shared across many notable media outlets, including TODAY Show, People, WUSA9, Lifetime TV, Fox News, Loudoun Times Mirror, New York Times, ABC7, Scholastic, Loudoun Now, Patch, Variety, Global Heroes Magazine, NBC News, Daily Mail, etc.

Listing her achievements and awards would lead to the use of a ream of paper. Talk about an overachiever! However, to her, success is best measured by hard work and dedication; thus, she wants to be known for the impact she makes on people’s lives. Esha hopes to leave behind a legacy defined by love and kindness, with people remembering her as someone who led from the heart and truly made a difference in the world.

What's one thing you want everyone to know about the star local student?

As international speaker, entrepreneur, humanitarian, and Gen-Z activist, Esha has contributed 4000+ hours of service over the past decade transforming countless lives by utilizing multifaceted approaches to advance social progress worldwide.

Congratulations on your achievements, and all of our best wishes to you in the future, Esha!

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