The announcement of the third annual Samvid Scholars list, which was revealed on December 18, featured Avi Gupta, a student of Indian origin currently enrolled in the class of 2026 at Yale Law School. Among a pool of over 1,000 applicants nationwide, Gupta was one of the 20 students selected for the prestigious scholarship.
Expressing his gratitude on LinkedIn, Gupta remarked, “I’m honored and excited to have been selected as a 2023 Samvid Scholar. I feel truly fortunate to have the chance to learn from such an inspiring group of young leaders from across the country.”
Established in 2021 by Samvid Ventures, a philanthropic foundation committed to enhancing lives through education and entrepreneurship, the Samvid Scholarship program aims to empower mission-driven graduate students with outstanding track records of impact. The goal is to enable them to lead transformative change in society through a combination of leadership development, community, and financial support.
The 2023 cohort of Samvid Scholars comprises emerging leaders in fields such as medicine, medical technology, disability advocacy, and economic development. Each of the scholars, including Gupta, will receive up to $100,000 in funding for their respective graduate programs. Additionally, they will participate in a two-year leadership development program designed to help them fulfill their potential to drive significant change.
The training program is structured with a focus on self-knowledge in the first year, while the second year emphasizes the development of cross-disciplinary skills. This strategic approach is intended to equip the scholars with the necessary tools to lead and drive impactful change on a broad scale.
Avi Gupta, currently pursuing a Doctor of Law (JD) degree at Yale, previously earned a Master of Science in Computer Science from Stanford University in 2023. His educational journey also includes a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Stanford. Notably, in 2022, Gupta was one of the 58 students awarded the Truman Scholarship for his contributions to technology and public policy.
Gupta’s commitment to public service dates back to high school, where he co-founded Project32, a student-run nonprofit. The organization focused on providing dental hygiene education and access to dental products for underserved youth globally. In 2019, Gupta showcased his intellect on the NBC network show Jeopardy!, winning the teen tournament national championship. Leveraging this victory, he initiated the #InspiredBy campaign, raising $200,000 for pancreatic cancer early detection research.
During the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Gupta played a crucial role as a founding member of LifeMech, a collective of professional engineers, physicians, and designers. He contributed to the development of a low-cost and reliable ventilator for hospitals in need. Gupta specifically designed and developed the user interface for the ventilator, resulting in an FDA-approved technology that is now open-source and free for global communities to use.
