Nidhi Krishnan
Washington University in St. Louis
Nidhi Krishnan is a first-year student at Washington University in St. Louis, where she is a John B. Ervin Scholar. She is deeply passionate about advocating for racial and socioeconomic equity in political institutions. She currently serves on the National Advisory Board of Students Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, where she works to address the relationship between gun violence and systemic racism. Additionally, she conducts research on the legacies of enslavement and racial violence in the sociology department. She is currently interning at a local nonprofit, Arch City Defenders that works to end the criminalization of poverty in communities of color.
Personal Statement
In high school, I became involved with Students Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. I noticed that the gun violence prevention movement had a problematic tendency of centering stories of mass shootings while ignoring the gun violence that plagues urban, low-income communities of color. Thus, in my work with gun violence prevention, I strive to shed light on urban gun violence and the underlying patterns of systemic racism. I am passionate about using my skills to work towards racial and socioeconomic justice and believe that social problems often stem from structural inequities and government failures. I approach social ills through a critical lens to analyze the possible root causes. I am excited to join a network of like-minded individuals that share my commitment to social justice. Through this fellowship, I hope to develop my skills so that I can continue to fiercely advocate for equity in my community.
