About Me

Welcome! My name is Avani Giri and I am a current sophomore at Penn State University as a part of the 7-year Accelerated BS/MD program with Sidney Kimmel Medical College. I have always had a passion for helping others, specifically in the field of medicine. I have recently become more aware of how education on social issues can impact medicine and beyond. My interest in social issues greatly expanded after taking AP United States History my sophomore year. This class opened my eyes to how different social events in history repeat themselves, and how important it is to understand what happened in the past in order to learn and be educated in the future. When school shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I devoted time to dive into various issues. I began to watch political debates, along with reading articles about what was happening in the world. As I became more educated on different topics, I was able to connect information I learned in school to information I was learning at home, and this made me even more invested in learning and growing my knowledge. I began to see how divided society is when discussing certain issues, as well as how people’s opinions were getting in the way of having productive conversations and learning about these problems. I specifically saw this divide when it came to Black Lives Matter, gun control, COVID-19, and mental health. I decided that it would be beneficial to make a website in order to educate others and try to bridge the divide in the country starting with the Gen Z generation, which we are the next generation of voters and influencers of change. I wanted to spark productive conversations about these issues so that society can reach conclusions that can better the world that we live in as a whole. My ultimate goal is to use the power of education to bridge the divide in the country and to help others that are dealing with these issues. Being of the Gen Z generation myself, I feel our generation is uniquely suited to make major progress for decades to come, and we must be educated now to be informed voters and agents of change. The issues I have explored here are from a Gen Z perspective, whether that impacts medicine, social justice, or education to increase understanding and a sense of community for all human beings as we embrace our diversity!