Rohan Krishnan’s passion for working with refugees, which he plans to make his career, started with the simple requirement to do community service at Worcester Academy. He began by serving in Worcester, which has a large population of people who have fled their home countries, particularly Iraq and Syria. First, he did what was required, but then he went well beyond that, going into the community during the afternoon and developing a connection with the young people.
"I could see that their lives were really difficult, and they were going through a lot of psychological and social challenges that it's tough to understand unless you're working closely with them," he says. "That was heartbreaking to me, but it was also meaningful to have something to contribute and help them in some way."
At the Academy, Krishnan ’20 won the Bernon Junior Service Award for his commitment. He donated the proceeds to the non-profit agency Ansaar of Worcester, allowing for the establishment of an after-school program for children of refugees.
"That was cool because I was able to use the award to create a program still running today in the Worcester community," Krishnan says. "I was proud and happy to have an impact on these students' lives."
Krishnan, who began at Worcester Academy in middle school, credits his teachers and staff members with supporting him in his efforts to serve refugees. This was an extension of what drew him to the school in the first place—a strong academic program that allowed him to ask tough questions.
"My teachers were very open to me asking questions, and I think that sort of environment worked well for me because I liked engaging in the material," he says. "It sparked that curiosity in me to dig deeper and learn more. That has made me a multifaceted individual interested in various things."
After graduating, his next stop was Yale University, where the global affairs major continued working with refugees at another local non-profit, this time helping teenagers with college and career readiness. He organized workshops with admissions officers, helped with SAT prep and essays, and even took them to basketball games to provide a sense of normal social interaction.
His work on these issues grew even further at Yale. Inspired in part by his connections with international students in high school and college, Krishnan began a podcast called "Voices of the World" to share what free speech looks like in other countries.
"I would have conversations with my friends, and they would say, 'Yeah, you could get arrested if you made a bad tweet.’ To me, growing up in American culture where free speech was absolute, that's insane," Krishnan says. "I started the podcast to raise awareness and gain a better appreciation for those rights and privileges we have in the United States."
Finally, for his senior capstone project at Yale, Krishnan traveled to Bosnia. His work involved assessing for the United Nations how the multi-ethnic Brčko District might become an independently governed region.
"It was a really interesting project because it had a very tangible impact," Krishnan says. "It was a serious partner coming to us with a very serious project and asking us to travel to this region of the world and look at the problem, analyze the problem, and then give real solutions and advice for that problem."
Since graduating from Yale last spring, Krishnan has been working in Washington, D.C. in a corporate job, but he plans to head to law school in a couple of years. His goal: serving as a lawyer for refugees and immigrants.
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Rohan Krishnan |
