Aishwarya Khanduja

2017–Present: First Generations Organization – Founder

I am the founder of First Generations Organization (1GO), a non-profit that serves as a national ambassador for high school students in Canada who lack access to resources. A lot of marginalized students don’t end up pursuing higher education because they are made to believe they don’t have the potential. Through advocacy and outreach efforts, we help marginalized students in high school realize their value and that they can also receive higher education. We introduce students to education options, offer adversity-based (not merit-based) scholarships, and offer a free mentorship program between high school and post-secondary students throughout Canada.

2019–Present: Loop Education – Founder

I founded Loop Education with the aim of providing accessible and affordable academic consulting to students in high school. The current political climate in Canada, especially in Alberta, has led to heavy budget cuts in the education sector. Career counsellors don’t exist anymore in most public high schools, and guidance counsellors are not equipped to help make career decisions. Academic consulting starts off at $400 an hour and is therefore inaccessible to marginalized groups, which can include students who are first generation, students from immigrant or refugee families, students of Indigenous heritage, and students simply lacking access to resources and opportunities due to socioeconomic factors. With Loop Education, we employ post-secondary students as consultants to accessibly provide personalized action plans for post-secondary education and share their lived experience of their own transition to post-secondary studies.