Changing the World, One Grain of Sand at a Time

How the Girish and Himangi Rishi Student Travel Award led to an impactful, hands-on learning experience for a Hopkins graduate student

When Girish Rishi talks about changing the world, he sees a vast beach of global challenges. He believes progress happens through steady, intentional action — one grain of sand at a time.

That belief is shared by Himangi Rishi, a health care professional whose career has been shaped by hands-on, in-person learning. Together, the couple brought this shared commitment to the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), where Girish graduated with a master’s in public policy in 2005.

In 2023, the Rishis established the Girish and Himangi Rishi Student Travel Award (GHRSTA), through the Johns Hopkins Gupta-Klinsky India Institute (GKII), which supports Hopkins’ masters students with immersive, in-country learning experiences in India. One of those students, Anupama R John, would discover just how transformative that support could be. The award reflects the Rishis’ shared commitment to doing good and the dynamic they have built, blending public policy, health care, and a deep respect for learning through practice, working closely with India partners and local communities.

For Himangi, hands-on experience is not supplemental to education; it is essential. As an occupational therapist, she explains, “Because of my profession in health care, it’s all hands-on. The satisfaction you get from that — it can’t be beat! I think students who use this award will gain the same kind of satisfaction that I did.”

The Rishis want students to have the opportunity to apply what they learn in the classroom to real-world challenges early in their careers, when experiences can shape professional trajectories for decades.

In just over three years, donor support has enabled 22 students to work alongside Johns Hopkins faculty and partner organizations across India, contributing to 19 faculty-led projects, including primary health care, infectious disease prevention, AI in health, and more. This program not only advances health outcomes in India but also develops future global health leaders. “We hope each recipient learns to teach,” Girish says. “They go in to learn, but as they’re learning, they learn to teach, so that knowledge can be spread.”

That hope was realized for John — a GHRSTA recipient, dentist from India, and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health graduate student. John returned to Karnataka in southwest India for her practicum, expecting to contribute to a research project focused on people living with HIV. What she did not anticipate was how profoundly this opportunity would change her understanding of her own community and her role within it.

Although she had lived and studied in the region for years, John had never interacted with the population she would be working with: children and young adults who acquired HIV through mother-to-child transmission and now face daily stigma despite being medically stable. The GHRSTA grant allowed her to travel to India and spend time listening, observing, and responding to needs that went far beyond her original research plan.

“I didn’t know what impact I could have,” John reflects. “But this experience showed me how much difference one person can make, just by showing empathy and taking initiative.”

John leaned into her clinical expertise and her ability to connect people. Through conversations with community members, she uncovered a critical gap: access to dental care. Many community members had been denied treatment after disclosing their HIV status or had avoided seeking care altogether.

Drawing on her professional background and personal networks, John began reaching out to dental schools, faculty members, and clinicians across Karnataka. Within weeks, she helped organize a full-scale dental camp at Navodaya Dental College and Hospital that combined health education with clinical screening. For many in the community, it was their first time receiving dental care.

More importantly, the experience began to rebuild trust. By connecting providers, institutions, and community members, John helped establish access. What started as one student’s practicum has evolved into pathways to health care that will continue to serve multiple districts.

Designed not only to expand students’ worldviews, GHRSTA equips them to become better learners, teachers, and problem-solvers — people prepared to carry these lessons into long careers of service. “These students are in their first 10 years,” Girish says. “We hope this experience becomes defining.”

By anchoring this work within the Gupta–Klinsky India Institute, the Rishis are investing in more than individual scholars. They are helping build the next generation of leaders — creating a ripple effect that starts with student curiosity and grows into lasting change across India and beyond.