Atlanta, GA, April 9, 2018: Atlanta’s Meghana Nallajerla, a senior at the University of Pennsylvania, is one of the recipients of the prestigious Fulbright scholarship funded by the US Department of State, and will begin her research in Sri Lanka in the fall of 2018.
She will research intergenerational trauma among Tamil families who survived the Civil War.
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is an American scholarship program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the Fulbright Program, competitively selected American citizens may become eligible for scholarships to study, conduct research, or exercise their talents abroad.
Meghana Nallajerla will begin her Fulbright research in Sri Lanka in Fall 2018. She will research intergenerational trauma among Tamil families who survived the Civil War.
Meghana is currently a senior double majoring in Psychology and Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies, with a minor in South Asia Studies at theUniversityofPennsylvania. Her previous work includes research on perceptions of depression amongst South Asian immigrants, and discrimination and wellbeing amongst ethnic minorities inIndia.
Meghana is the former Chair of the Penn Association for Gender Equity and the founder of the South Asian Women’s Space.
On campus, Meghana chaired the Penn Association for Gender Equity – PAGE, an umbrella organization for undergraduate gender equity groups on campus. As Chair, Meghana’s focus has been on intersectionality and expanding feminist spaces to be welcoming to women of color. Meghana is also the co-founder of Spice Collective, a discussion and community-building program that brings together APIDA (Asian Pacific Islander Desi American) women to address issues pertinent to their unique identities.
In addition, Meghana is passionate about immigrant rights, racial justice, and anti-casteist work both on and off campus. As a first-generation immigrant, Meghana is invested in inclusive organizing that is accessible to immigrant parents and elders. She ultimately aspires to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology to research and implement culturally accessible, community-based forms of psychotherapy for South Asian immigrant communities.
As an activist on campus Meghana received the prestigious “James Brister Society Student Leadership Award” for 2018.
Meghana is a Presidential Scholar Award winner from Georgia for the year 2014. She graduated from Milton High School in the same year.