BANYAN COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP FOR SOUTH ASIAN AMERICANS
2022 BANYAN SCHOLARS
KALJIANG SHERPA
Kaljang was born in Nepal and grew up in Jackson Heights, New York. He attended the Packer Collegiate Institute for high school. Being a team manager for varsity sports, he discovered his interest in becoming a sports medicine physician. He is currently on the pre-med track at Hamilton College and plans to major in Biochemistry. After becoming a physician, he wants to volunteer in developing countries to make a positive difference in the world. Outside of his studies, he enjoys playing club volleyball and helping out at the sports medicine department.
ESHA IFTIKHER
Esha was born in Pakistan and raised in Queens, New York. She attended Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School (MELS), where she discovered a passion for social justice, creative writing, and government. She was an organizer at the Teen Activist Project of the New York Civil Liberties Union, her school's National Honor Society president, and the co-president of the Creative Writing Club. Esha is currently attending Barnard College of Columbia University expecting to major in Political Science and Psychology. At Columbia, she is a member of the Pi Lambda Sigma Premier Pre-Professional Government Society (POLIS) and an associate member of the United Nations Columbia Leadership Council. Esha plans to enter a career that is related to social justice. In her free time, she likes to bake, binge-watch shows, and listen to music.
MUHAMMAD ISLAM
Muhammad was born in Bangladesh and grew up in Queens, New York. He attended The Baccalaureate School for Global Education, partaking in extracurriculars such as the South Asian Coalition, Robotics, Economics, and graducated with a International Baccalaureate degree. He is currently a freshman in Syracuse University and is majoring in Environmental Engineering. He is also the freshman representative for the South Asian Student Association. He hopes to do work in the field and find ways to build a sustainable future. In his free time, Muhammad reads books, mainly manga, binges netflix, listens to music, tend to his shrimp tank, and explore Syracuse.
SUFIAN JAVED
Sufiyan, whose family is from Pakistan, was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Brooklyn Technical High School, where he developed a passion for chemistry and engineering in an effort to solve a variety of issues ranging from healthcare to sustainability. During high school, Sufiyan was a member of the Chemical Engineering Executive Board, volunteered at the Icla da Silva Foundation, worked for the American Cancer Society: Cancer Action Network, and conducted original research under his school's Weston Research Scholars Program. Sufiyan is currently a freshman at Stanford University where he pursues a Chemical Engineering Degree at Stanford's School of Engineering.
AMANJYOT KAUR
Amanjyot, whose family immigrated from India, was raised in Queens, NY. As a child, she was fascinated by the new world around her but never felt the need to assimilate into American culture. She attended John Adams High School with an Advanced Regents Diploma with a Seal of Biliteracy (in Punjabi and English) and concentrated on Media Studies/ Photography. She is currently a freshman at CUNY Hunter College pursuing a major in Political Science with a minor in French or Economics, hoping to become a criminal justice defense attorney. After college, she plans to work as a paralegal for about a year and then continue to law school. In her free time, Amanjyot enjoys journaling, reading, watching K-dramas, and playing basketball with her younger brother.