Indian-born among White House 'Champions of Change'

Washington, June 17: An India-born is among ten young adults selected by the White House as "Champions of Change" for their exemplary leadership in their communities, who will be felicitated today in a ceremony.

All ten including New Delhi-born Pratishtha Khanna are also Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) recipients, who serve as success stories and role models in their academic and professional spheres.

"These Champions distinguished themselves through their community involvement and the hard work they put into helping other members of their academic and professional communities succeed," the White House said in a statement.

These DACA recipients would be felicitated by the White House at an event today. Pratishtha of Laurel, Maryland who migrated to the US at the age of 10, is currently a senior at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).

She will graduate in May with a BS in Biology. She is an active member of the API Youth Convening-DACA Collaborative planning committee and the Maryland Dream Youth Committee (MDYC).

She is also a member of Dreamers for DREAMers student organisation at UMBC. After graduation, Pratishtha will be working (thanks to DACA) as an emergency room medical scribe and will pursue a Certified Nursing Assistant Program at Howard Community College.

She hopes to attend medical school in Fall 2017, the White House said. US government's DACA programme is designed to shield young undocumented immigrants from being deported.

The Champions of Change programme was created as an opportunity for the White House to feature individuals doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities, it said in a statement.

PTI