I am Aaira, a rising senior at Stanford studying Economics with a secondary major in Public Policy. I am drawn to strategic consulting and the kind of problem-solving that comes with allocating limited resources well, which is also what drew me to my current role as Managing Director at Stanford Student Enterprises, where I oversee capital allocation across more than 700 student organizations on campus. Writing has been the other constant. I authored "Unearthing Northeast," a book of stories from Northeast India, and I founded Cardinal Cryptic, a cryptic crossword column at The Stanford Daily, as well as wrote for my own column, "Aaira's Adventures". I am now working to launch Daily Audio, a new branch of The Stanford Daily, alongside the paper's Editor-in-Chief and Video Managing Editor. As an F-1 visa student, I don't have access to federal aid or most loan options available to my domestic classmates, so I have worked to cover my own costs, at times holding three jobs at once while staying within the 20-hour weekly limit. Anytime I saw a job on campus, I applied and worked - this involved working for the Stanford Law School, Stanford Summer Session and Stanford Graduate School of Education. This scholarship would go directly toward my final year's tuition and let me spend more time on the work above and less time worrying about how to pay for it.

• Investigated 150+ sites (ARCED/DOE data) via Google Earth imagery to assess past lead smelting activity; cross-referenced ambiguous cases against TSIP sources, tracked findings in Excel, and flagged methodology improvements to strengthen data reliability

  Stanford Woods Institute · Environmental Geosciences

  2026 – 2026

  Research topic:

  Project Unleaded (GeoAI for Lead Smelting Sites)

• Dance and Financial Officer for the Club

  Common Origins · Dance

  2024 – Present

• Volunteer

  Volunteering · Second Harvest Food Bank

  2025 – 2025

  Mission:

  Providing support to those dealing with food insecurity