7 Indian-Origin Students Get Prestigious Scholarships At Stanford University

Seven Indian-origin students have secured Stanford University's prestigious Knights-Henessey scholarship for this year. Ank Agarwal, Wasan Kumar, Aneesh Pappu, Isha Sanghvi, Kritika Singh, Krishna Pathak and Rahul Penumaka are among the 90 scholars chosen for the scholarship which is the largest graduate fellowship in the world.

The disciplines pursued by the Indian-origin students span across fields of medicine, technology, engineering and law. They have enrolled in degrees ranging from PhDs, MBAs and MDs, showing diverse interests in research and development, policy, entrepreneurship and social impact.

For the first time, the scholarship has been awarded to 90 students from 30 countries, to pursue 45 graduate programs across all seven schools at Stanford. This year's group of scholars includes students from Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Bolivia, Bulgaria, France and Sri Lanka.

Among the 2024 batch, 47% of the students hold non-US passports. “Each scholar brings a unique perspective to our growing community. It is inspiring to see them build ties and gain knowledge across disciplines, cultures, and ideologies, contributing to their ability to address the world's biggest challenges," Tina Seelig, executive director of Knight-Hennessy Scholars, said.

Knight-Hennessy is a university-wide, fully-endowed graduate fellowship and its scholars receive up to three years of financial aid to pursue graduate studies at the university. Scholars are selected based on their demonstration of independence of thought, purposeful leadership, and a civic mindset.