Roshni Sinha

Roshni Sinha is a recipient of a Fellowship from the Marcy Migdal Fund for Educational Equality. The award supports exceptional students engaged in activities aimed at enhancing access to education for vulnerable students, either locally or throughout the world, and helping them succeed in their education. Click here to learn more about the Marcy Migdal Fund.

Roshni Sinha is a fifth-year student studying Biological Anthropology and International Studies with a focus on International Human Rights. Recently, she just finished leading a year-long leadership development program part of ASUW called UW Leaders, which provides professional and personal development opportunities to a cohort of 57 students and creates leadership resources for the public.

Roshni believes neither sex nor gender should ever be an obstacle to following one’s dreams. Since she was born, she has traveled from the Bay Area to Kolkata, India with her family every two years to visit her relatives. She was privileged enough to grow up with domestic workers taking care of her every time they visited. While she was there, she always talked to the women who took care of her and learned about their experiences and childhoods. This was eye-opening for her because it shed light on the obstacles women face in attaining education, particularly due to poverty, rigid gender roles, the pressure to get married, and child exploitation. As part of the organization Learn Without Barriers, an organization she and her cousins lead that aims to improve educational equality for children living in slums in Kolkata, India, she will be working with a girl’s shelter to address their needs, including the potential development of women and girl’s health curriculum, computer literacy classes, and more. The goal is to ensure that each of these girls receives a quality education, minimally through secondary school and ultimately through college or trade school, and to aid them in breaking the cycle of poverty.