NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
Johns Creek, GA, June 8, 2025: NRI Pulse had earlier featured 15-year-old Arya Upadhyay, a prodigious Atlanta teen whose innovative work in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and environmental sustainability has earned her recognition from Microsoft AI, Women in Technology, and other leading organizations. Today, Arya is facing a new challenge—one that threatens to halt her remarkable journey: funding her college education.
Arya, who moved to the U.S. just four years ago, completed grades 6 through 12 in that short span and graduated from Northview High School in Johns Creek two years early. This fall, she is set to begin college to pursue a degree in engineering, with a mission to apply technology to real-world environmental challenges.
However, the young trailblazer now finds herself confronting an overwhelming financial burden.
“As an international student, I am ineligible for federal aid and most scholarships,” Arya wrote in an email to NRI Pulse. “Almost all of my educational expenses—tuition, housing, and living costs—must be covered entirely by my family. Due to a recent change in my father’s job, and my mother being ineligible to work, we’ve had to dip into my college savings just to cover day-to-day living expenses.”
Arya and her family have taken out loans, sold property, and made personal sacrifices to support her educational journey. Arya has already earned the maximum scholarships and student loans available to her, but a substantial funding gap remains. In a last-ditch effort to keep her dreams alive, she has launched a GoFundMe campaign and is turning to the community for help.
Fundraiser by Avnish Gupta : Help Arya, 15-Year-Old Climate Innovator, Attend College
Earlier this year, Arya’s accomplishments were highlighted in NRI Pulse. Her resume already reads like that of a seasoned researcher. She developed an award-winning Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to protect school networks from cyber threats, with her research recognized at a major conference and implemented in schools in India.
She also founded Plant a Change, an initiative that uses biodegradable nanorobots to remove microplastics from soil, promoting sustainable farming. As a finalist at the Emory Greenovation Contest, Arya presented her food waste reduction project—a real-time app that connects restaurants and grocery stores with surplus food to local shelters—before nearly 1,000 attendees. The initiative led to the distribution of 10,000 meals to homeless individuals in Atlanta.
Arya has also participated in research at Georgia Tech and Stanford AI initiatives and interned with tech startups and environmental consulting firms. Her vision is clear: to use AI and emerging technologies to solve urgent global problems.
To support Arya Upadhyay’s educational journey, visit her GoFundMe campaign:
https://gofund.me/09f8fbac
