Trisha Ballakur
- Brown University
- Andover High School, Andover, MA
Trisha and her classmates suffered the devastating loss of losing a classmate to suicide. Trisha explains that while she could go home daily and work through the trauma she and her classmates experienced with her parents, she realized this was not the case for all students–specifically bullying victims. Trisha soon partnered with two of her classmates to create Illumination, a “mobile app [that] allows teenagers to uplift themselves and build resilience to any situation of emotional adversity by giving them anytime access to appropriate and confidential coping resources.” Illumination offers students the following services: “24-hour call and text helplines, volunteer activities, deep breathing exercises, therapeutic animal videos, and inspirational biographies.” Trish is a 2018 Congressional App Challenge winner, a Black Belt in Kung Fu, and the founder the Girls Who Code Club.