Global Indianstory Global Indian ExclusiveIndian-origin cricketer, Geetika Kodali, is leading the USA team to glory

Indian-origin cricketer, Geetika Kodali, is leading the USA team to glory

Written by: Team GI Youth

(September 12, 2023) In recent years, cricket has transcended its traditional stronghold in the eastern part of the world and found a burgeoning popularity in unexpected corners, notably the USA and Canada. Across America, school and college competitions are now a common sight, drawing a vibrant pool of young talent aspiring to carve a career in this exciting sport, and the United States’ entry into the International Cricket Council (ICC) not too long ago marked a significant milestone. The nation has even ventured into major international tournaments in both men’s and women’s cricket. And leading the charge for the USA U-19 Women’s Cricket team is a remarkable young Indian-origin cricketer, Geetika Kodali, who started her international career at the age of fourteen.

Cricketer | Geetika Kodali | Global Indian

“It is an excellent time to get involved with cricket in the US. The sport of cricket is currently receiving a lot of attention and funding, and both men and women have several opportunities opening up,” the young cricketer recently said in an interview, adding, “I’m grateful to benefit from everyone who represented the nation before me and battled for these chances to support the next generation. I hope this will encourage a lot more girls to start playing cricket, and they will also have the chance to play franchise cricket in the future. The USA women’s pathway has provided the female cricketers in the country with many stages in which they could showcase their talents.”

In the fast lane

Born in California to Indian immigrants – Kodali Prashant and Madavi, who are originally from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh – Geetika spent most of her childhood years in Morrisville, North Carolina. Although she was first introduced to cricket through her family and friends, the youngster instantly fell in love with the small bat and ball her father had got her.

“I started playing sports a lot when I was a child. I would switch sports every season. So, I started with soccer and then basketball and then volleyball, tennis, and swimming. Like, it just kept going,” the cricketer said, adding, “But then at 11, I came across cricket and I didn’t know it was being played in America professionally. Until then, I would just play with my cousins in the backyard, like gully cricket, and if you hit a car, you get out. So that’s how far my expertise went. But then I started professional training and I just fell in love with the sport, so I never switched back to any other sport.”

Cricketer | Geetika Kodali | Global Indian

USA Women’s U19 captain Geetika and vice-captain Anika Kolan

One of her earliest memories, which catalysed her passion, was witnessing a match between the USA Women’s team and the Pakistan Women’s team in Florida. “That was like the moment I was like, I want to play for USA one day,” the Global Indian recalled. And the cricketer’s ascent to the international stage reads like a surreal tale.

The Captain’s call

Geetu or Geets, as she is referred to by her friends counts Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood as one of her favourite cricketers. Her penchant for delivering medium-pace bouncers to opposition batters may be influenced by this admiration. At 11, she started training at the club called Cricket Zeal Academy, where her coach was also the head coach of the USA’s National Women’s team. “He trained me very well,” she recalled, “I never expected to play for an Under-19 team because there wasn’t one when I first started playing. My debut for the Women’s team came at the age of 14 when I played against Canada in the ICC Women’s World T20 qualifier in May 2019.”

Geetika with her team

In 2022, the Trinbago Knight Riders acquired the young cricketer as an overseas player for the debut edition of The 6ixty, hosted in the West Indies. And it was here that Geetika shocked the world, and made history by becoming the first player to claim the first-ever hat trick in the history of the “6ixty” for TKR against the Barbados Royals. The cricketer dismissed three notable wickets – Hayley Matthews, Britney Cooper, and Chloe Tryon, who collectively boast an impressive tally of 449 international matches among them. “It is an incredible feeling to take the first Hat Trick in the history of the Sixty competition. When I entered this event, I never imagined that I would be making history. I was thrilled to make an early breakthrough,” the cricketer said, “I have had tremendous support from the team on and off the field, and we have faith in one another’s abilities.”

Later the same year, the cricketer was chosen to captain the USA Under-19 women’s national team for the 2023 ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup, which is also set to be the inaugural edition of the ICC Women’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup. Talking about captaining the team, the youngster said, “When it comes to motivating the team, I never have a hard time because as soon as game day hits or even the night before, everyone is super excited and like, there’s just a fire in the team, so we all want to come back with the cup or come back with the win on a given day. In the morning there’ll be a lot of music and we’ll all be super competitive and fired up and the warm-ups will be extra chaotic.”

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Published on 12, Sep 2023

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Olympic Dreams: Tennis champ Shrivalli wants to bring home the gold

(December 22, 2022) Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty, who was crowned the national hardcourt tennis champion (women’s singles) 2021, was 11 when she first held a tennis racket in her hand. Calling herself an “accidental” tennis player, Shrivalli was introduced to the game at the Lal Bahadur stadium in Hyderabad. “I was just 11 years old and frankly, I only noticed the clothes of the kids who were playing at the stadium,” laughs the 20-year-old tennis star during an interview with Global Indian. “I told my father that I wanted to play because I also wanted to wear those clothes,” she adds. [caption id="attachment_25691" align="aligncenter" width="675"] Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty, tennis player[/caption] However, Shrivalli has come a long way since then. The right-handed tennis star, recently recorded twin victories as she entered the singles quarterfinals and doubles semi-finals of the Balaji Amines Solapur Open Women’s ITF $25K Tennis Tournament held in Solapur. The player is currently doing her degree at St. Francis College for Women, Hyderabad, has also won numerous titles, including ITF Women’s (doubles) $15000 – 2022 held in Gurugram. She was also a semi-finalist at the ITF Women’s (singles) $15000 – 2022, Ahmedabad. Making of a champion Born to two sports

ee at St. Francis College for Women, Hyderabad, has also won numerous titles, including ITF Women’s (doubles) $15000 – 2022 held in Gurugram. She was also a semi-finalist at the ITF Women’s (singles) $15000 – 2022, Ahmedabad.

Making of a champion

Born to two sports players – her father being a cricketer and mother a national-level basketball player – Shrivalli was always encouraged to play sports. “I was a very active child, mostly because my parents were into outdoor activities. My father, especially, is a sports freak. He encouraged me to pick up an extra-curricular activity in school,” shares the tennis star, who is also a trained Carnatic singer.

While she took part in various sports, including swimming and roller skating, tennis was her ‘one true love’. And once she started training, it did not take the coaches at the LB stadium much time to realise that Shrivalli was a gifted player.

“For the first year, I went to the stadium to just have fun. I was the most talkative kid in the stadium, who loved picking up balls more than hitting them,” she laughs, adding, “But one day when my father had come to pick me up, one of the coaches asked him if I would like to take up the sport professionally. After coming home, my father posed the same question. In fact, I remember he warned me that it would be a tough journey. I was about 12 years old and didn’t really understand what was so tough about playing tennis. So, I just said yes,” the tennis player recalls.

Even as she worked hard to win every tournament, she did not forget to enjoy her childhood. Although she was a good student, she was also a trouble-maker in class. “I was a notorious student. A few friends and I would bunk classes together. We would never leave the school premises, but we just would not attend the classes some times. Since I was very talkative, the teachers would sometimes even kick me out of the class. But I was a good student, my grades were really good. And I’d win gold in almost every tournament, so my teachers and principal were happy with me,” smiles the tennis champ.

When the going gets tough

During her initial years, the tennis player won several medals, including the national title 2014-15, and under-18 petit camp open doubles in Mauritius in 2016. However, like every player she had to face some tough losses as well. While she recognised her potential as a player, Shrivalli learnt a lot from the matches she couldn’t win.

[caption id="attachment_25692" align="aligncenter" width="649"] Shrivalli with her parents[/caption]

“I knew right from the beginning that I was able to do something extraordinary, something not everyone could do. As a junior, I wasn’t much of a performing kid. So, I would constantly put pressure on myself to perform well. And when I didn’t, the losses hit me very hard. Also, the other tennis players my age were performing really well, and I would inadvertently compare myself with them. In almost every tournament, even before the draw was out, I would freak out,” shares the young player.

For two years, Shrivalli constantly struggled with self-doubt which affected her game. Explaining how important it is to be mentally strong to win the games, the tennis player adds, “I did go to a psychologist subsequently and that helped me a lot. I started concentrating on my game more than the outcomes. So, as I moved towards my under-18s, my game improved a lot.” Her parents, Shrivalli says, were very supportive through her journey, and never once put pressure on her.

Olympic dreams

One of her biggest victories was defeating Rutuja Bhosale at the ITF $25K Pune R1 – 2021. That instilled a great deal of confidence in her. “I think all players feel nervous before a match. I do too. But I am confident now that I can play against, and defeat, any player,” remarks Shrivalli, who is very inspired by Novak Djokovic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXWeyVQPQls

Shrivalli dreams of representing India at the Olympics and works at her aspirations without compromise. Her day begins at 4.15 am and training continues for between five and six hours a day. And along the way, she hopes to win as many cups as she can for her country. “I will be participating in several upcoming national and international tournament. But a dream come true will be representing India at the Olympics and winning gold for the country,” says the tennis star, who loves cooking or baking in her free time.

Reading Time: 6 mins

Kevin J Patel: Indian-American climate activist leading the charge for a greener tomorrow

(October 11, 2023) "My activism doesn't come as a choice. My activism doesn't come as a hobby. It's a survival tool for my community," says Kevin J Patel, a Los Angeles-based climate activist, who is the founder of OneUpAction International, an organisation empowering marginalised youth by providing them with the resources they need to be changemakers. Being one of the youth voices on the climate crisis, Kevin currently serves as a 2020 National Geographic Young Explorer. It was at the age of 12 that a health issue led Kevin to become aware of the environmental damage caused by the many oil refineries in the surrounding area. He is one of the two million California residents who live within 2,500 feet of an operational oil and gas well and are prone to health issues. Born to immigrant parents who moved to the US in search of better opportunities, Kevin grew up in a space where they grew their own food. However, he lived in a community in South Central Los Angeles where food scarcity was common, and it was in his first semester of sixth grade that he became aware of the issue. "I realized my community wasn’t getting access to

community in South Central Los Angeles where food scarcity was common, and it was in his first semester of sixth grade that he became aware of the issue. "I realized my community wasn’t getting access to healthier foods; I really wanted to do something about it. I started teaching my peers to grow food. Many did not know that food comes from farms and they can grow their own foods," he said in an interview.

However, things amplified in the second semester of his sixth grade when one day sitting in his classroom, he felt a sudden chest pain. He was fit, played sports, and had no high blood pressure, but ended up being diagnosed with arrhythmia, a condition in which the heart beats at an irregular rhythm. Confused, he started looking for answers as to why this might have happened to him and he found the answer in the location he lived. "South-Central Los Angeles was classified as a 'sacrifice zone' — places where residents, often low-income and/or people of colour, live close to freeways, factories, and oil wells. That's where environmental inaction and damage have resulted in arrhythmia-stoking levels of smog. So, I started protesting. I led marches, petitioned government officials, and demanded climate justice from anyone who would listen," he said.

While getting actively involved in activism, Kevin didn't see many people who looked like him, especially in the youth climate movement. In 2018, more than 85 percent of staffers in over 2000 environmental nonprofits were white. This nudged him to start OneUpAction International in 2019 to create a platform for young individuals who were BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color). "I consider myself an intersectional climate activist, and one of the millions of people across the world who are already victims of the climate crisis. I didn't see a home for people like myself."

Over the years, OneUpAction translated into more than just giving voice to BIPOC, it turned into an organisation that supports and empowers marginalised youth to become changemakers, and to tackle the climate crisis within their local communities for a regenerative future. "Now we're an organization that is helping young individuals across the globe implement and accelerate solutions within their communities."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmBUTxqkREw&t=19s

Kevin, who is pursuing Political Science at Loyola Marymount University, has over the years collaborated with the community to create a one-of-its-kind Youth Climate Commission in LA County to amplify youth voices. "The power of young people is crucially needed. I also think we just need to intergenerationally work together to really make sure that we're solving these issues."

The young climate activist is into hiking and photography, and is keen to get more young people equipped with the resources like monetary aid, membership and all "to implement solutions and drive action within their communities." "We need more young people at the table, and this is where OneUpAction is currently focused. Youth will drive the change our planet needs."

Follow Kevin J Patel on LinkedIn and website

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What’s with Indian-Americans and the US Spelling Bee contest?

(June 14, 2022) In 1985, Balu Natarajan became the first Indian-American kid to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee. And since then, the Indian-American community has pretty much dominated the competition. Even though they make up only about one percent of the United States' population, 27 Indian Americans have won the Spelling Bee championship so far since 1999, including the most recent winner Harini Logan. According to Pawan Dhingra, professor of sociology and American Studies at Amherst College, the success of Indian-Americans at the Scripps National Spelling Bee stems from the firm commitment of their families to spend the kind of time and money needed to prepare their kids. "These children are not just brilliant in spellings, they also excel in geography, mathematics and other academic competitions", Dhingra wrote in The Conversation. Global Indian puts the spotlight on five Scripps National Spelling Bee champions, who have made us all proud. Harini Logan Indian-American teen Harini Logan emerged as the champion of the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee. A student of Grade VIII from San Antonio, Texas won the 94th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee by spelling the most words correctly in a spell-off, the Bee's first since its inception in

as won the 94th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee by spelling the most words correctly in a spell-off, the Bee's first since its inception in 1925. Harini managed to spell through more words than more than 230 other competitors at the national level, including 12 other finalists. “I’ve been working towards the Bee for nearly seven years, since I was in first and second grade,” Harini said in a media interaction shortly after winning the title. “Spelling is something that sticks with you for life. Once you get into this journey, there’s a dedication you develop along with a work ethic. Networking for the bee is another skill you learn along the way.”

[caption id="attachment_18041" align="aligncenter" width="712"] Harini Logan[/caption]

The competition was rigorous, with 20 rounds culminating in a lightning round that pitted the top two finalists in a showdown in which they attempted to correctly spell as many words as possible within 90 seconds. The youngster beat Vikram Raju, another Indian origin student, who studies in Grade VII in Denver. While Logan spelled 21 words correctly, her opponent could only manage 15. Harini's parents are from Chennai, and she has a younger brother.

Karthik Nemmani

A soft-spoken eighth-grader from McKinney, Dallas, Karthik Nemmani was declared the champion in the 2018 edition of Scripps National Spelling Bee. Interestingly, this 17-year-old came to the Bee through a new program called RSVBee, which allows spellers who haven’t won a regional bee or had a chance to compete with the best. Karthik was in a nail-biting competition against another Indian-American, Naysa Modi who misspelled “Bewusstseinslage” and paved way for Karthik’s victory.

[caption id="attachment_18042" align="aligncenter" width="582"] Karthik Nemmani[/caption]

The champion took home 40,000 USD and a trophy from Scripps Bee, which is sponsored by the EW Scripps media group, in addition to a $2,500 cash prize from Merriam-Webster, the dictionary publisher and other prizes. Karthik had to spell two words correctly to seal the title, which he did with ease, and the teenager stepped back and smiled as he was showered with confetti. His winning word was “koinonia,” which means Christian fellowship or communion. "It was just an adrenaline rush," he told media after winning the competition, adding, "I had confidence, but I didn’t think it would really happen."

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Nihar Janga

At 11, Nihar Janga emerged as the youngest speller to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee title in the year 2016. The young kid from Austin, Texas nearly won outright twice in the championship rounds following errors by another contestant - Jairam Jagadeesh Hathwar, who was the co-winner of the title. Interestingly, an audience favorite, Nihar was often seen verifying definitions of obscure words with the judges — "is that an Irish prime minister?" — rather than requesting them.

[caption id="attachment_18043" align="aligncenter" width="632"] Nihar Janga[/caption]

"I am just speechless. I can't say anything. I am only a fifth grader," Nihar said with the trophy in his hand, as he attributed his success to his mother. "My mom. It's just my mom," the Spelling Bee champion said.

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Ananya Vinay

Ananya Vinay became the 13th consecutive Indian-American to win the contest and 18th of the past 22 winners with Indian heritage, in 2017. The 12-year-old from Fresno, California, showed little emotion and didn’t take much time as she ploughed through word after word. Sometimes she would blurt out questions, with little intonation “Part of speech?” “Language of origin?”

[caption id="attachment_18044" align="aligncenter" width="650"] Ananya Vinay[/caption]

Unflappable to the end, Ananya seized the opportunity when her steely opponent, Rohan Rajeev, flubbed a simple-looking but obscure Scandinavian-derived word, “marram,” which means a beach grass. She calmly nailed two words in a row, ending on “marocain,” which means a type of dress fabric of ribbed crepe, to win the 90th Scripps National Spelling Bee. “I knew them all,” Ananya said, after winning the trophy, adding, "It’s like a dream come true. I’m so happy right now.”

Sukanya Roy

Most people couldn’t spell “cymotrichous” with a dictionary. Fourteen-year-old Sukanya Roy from Pennsylvania isn’t most people – she spelled her way through it with ease, going on to win the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee. The teenager who participated in the high-profile annual U.S. spelling competition for the third time, won after 20 rounds in the final competition that went on until late evening. An eighth grader at Abington Heights Middle School, Sukanya traced the letters of each word on her hands, round by round, increasing her confidence, she said.

[caption id="attachment_18045" align="aligncenter" width="588"] Sukanya Roy[/caption]

After winning, she was shaking with excitement. “My heart started pounding, I guess. I couldn’t believe it,” Sukanya told an ESPN broadcaster immediately after receiving her trophy. Speaking about spelling “cymotrichous” - which means having wavy hair - correctly, she said, "I knew it immediately, but I focused on just spelling it right." Besides the trophy, she took home a $30,000 cash prize, a $2,500 U.S. savings bond, a complete reference library, a $5,000 scholarship, $2,600 in reference works and other prizes.

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Krrish Chawla: Stanford University student making clean air accessible

(March 15, 2023) Being surrounded by nebulizers and inhalers during Diwali has been one of the core memories for Delhi-born Krrish Chawla while growing up in the capital. As someone who battled respiratory problems throughout his childhood, the 20-year-old was always surrounded by air filters to enhance his breathing. This propelled him to find a solution for many like him, who were facing similar issues. "Being curious as a kid, I was just 14, when I dismantled a purifier inside my home to discover a very simple working design. However, I was taken aback the moment my father told me about its exorbitant price. With a strong resolution that breathing pure air is not a luxury but a necessity — I decided to build one myself," the Stanford University student said. Being a science student, he was well aware of the operations of an electrical circuit and soon started experimenting with different prototypes. It took him 320 prototypes to finally come up with a commercially viable model - "with a focus on delivering maximum efficiency at the most economical rates." This gave birth to Breathify in 2018 - an air-purifying device with an innovative ‘Reverse Air’ technology. "My parents helped

"with a focus on delivering maximum efficiency at the most economical rates." This gave birth to Breathify in 2018 - an air-purifying device with an innovative ‘Reverse Air’ technology. "My parents helped me immensely during the initial days. With the help of my father, I was able to innovate and design a technology called 'reverse air'. It essentially reverses the components used inside the device to reach maximum filtering efficiency," he added. In simple terms, the technology reverses the direction of airflow, thus eliminating any scope of air-mixing with surrounding pollutants.

Made of eco-friendly components, the air purifier is 99 percent plastic-free, uses a HEPA filter that can trap 99.97 percent of ultra-microscopic particles, and is available at ₹4230. "It is a simple plug-in-play operation, consuming 25-65 watts of electricity. The only maintenance is to change the HEPA filter," he told HT.

Being a teenager when he made the device, Krrish had to face many challenges, but for him, the prime struggle was to convince people about the simplicity of an air purifier. "I did several demos in front of people showing them the efficiency of my device. Since childhood, I was deeply inspired by minimalism. I believe that instead of incorporating a lot of complexity inside the machine, we should focus on a simple design to boost functionality," the Global Indian said.

The startup began with initial financial assistance from his father and later, he invested the profits from new orders. "I learned on Google through research and experimentation. The challenge was to understand the airflow and correct it as required,” he said. Breathify has till now helped improve the lives of over 48,000 people and has reached more than 12000 users in India.

Krrish, who is currently pursuing Computer Science at Stanford University, is an avid photographer and a national-level golfer. He is constantly striving for social upliftment, making positive differences in the world – a step at a time. A common aim of all his projects is environmental sustainability, which he hopes to achieve in the near future.

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Amika George: How the Indian-origin activist ended period poverty in the UK

(September 11, 2024) "Girls Too Poor to Buy Sanitary Products Missing School" - this headline on the BBC website in 2017 was the starting point of a revolution that was set to change the course of the education system in the UK. Behind this tectonic shift was a then 17-year-old Amika George, who stumbled upon the fact that period poverty was a startling reality in not just India or Kenya, but the UK too. One in ten girls in the UK was unable to afford sanitary products. Many girls were forced to miss school every month for the lack of access to menstrual products - this shocking truth led the activist to set up Free Periods, to campaign against period poverty. It was on Instagram that the movement took off in April 2017 and soon turned into a peaceful protest outside Downing Street with a turnout of 2000 people including big names like Suki Waterhouse and Adwoa Aboah. "Even though everyone was protesting period poverty – something so horrendous – it was also a celebration of periods," she told the Guardian in an interview. The activism carried on for almost three years, which translated into a big win in January

ig win in January 2020 when the British government decided to provide schools with free sanitary products.

[caption id="attachment_23569" align="aligncenter" width="656"] Amika George is the founder of Free Periods.[/caption]

An article that led to a revolution

An article about young girls missing up to a week's classes in the UK every month due to the unaffordability to buy sanitary products left Amika shocked. "It seemed unfair that a natural biological process was responsible for girls falling behind. To imagine being absent from school hit me," she told the Hindu. The fact that the girls were no different from her except for their financial background, led her to start a Free Periods petition, especially at a time when the government was rolling out tampon tax - seeing it as a luxury item.

The response was unprecedented, with girls from Asian communities and other ethnic backgrounds emailing her about their struggles during periods. They told her their families had a hard time affording two square meals, and there was no money for sanitary pads. One mail made her realise how "deeply entrenched" the taboo is after a girl wrote to her saying that she would search her parents' wallets or sofa for coins every month to buy pads as she felt embarrassed to ask for help or talk about periods.

"I was shocked and decided to start a campaign to lobby the government, urging them to give free menstrual products to children from the lowest income families. I found support quickly and globally. So many people outreached to offer support, with many telling me that this was something they were going through and needed to be addressed." she told Pink Parcel.

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Ensuring equal access to education for all children, irrespective of their sex was the foundation of the Free Periods movement which later turned into a legal campaign against the UK government, along with a collaboration with the Red Box Project. "Period poverty is a situation many girls and women find themselves in when they cannot afford costly period products. Globally, period poverty intersects with other forms of disadvantage, including poverty and geography. It costs young girls their education. It impacts their ability to fulfill their potential and affects their ability to secure decent jobs and lift their families out of poverty. Period poverty is an issue of gender inequality," she wrote for UN Women.

Much-needed change

As soon as her petition attracted 1,80,000 signatures, she led a protest outside the British PM's residence in Downing Street in December 2017. However, the journey was long with its share of ups and downs. There were times when nothing worked, and social media was the only place that kept her goals afloat as she found support from many people online. On other occasions, she kept demanding change through media interviews and school visits. To give momentum to the campaign, she launched Free Periods - a nonprofit in January 2019 - to work with human rights lawyers who could persuade the UK government to pay for menstrual products and make sure that every child in the UK attended school regularly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WRuKvLMkpA

The journey towards activism

Her efforts were paying off as she became the poster girl of youth activism by making it to the Time Most Influential Teens of 2018 list, and later to Teen Vogue's 21 under 21 list. The 24-year-old, who studied Indian colonial history at Cambridge University, also became the youngest recipient of Member of the Order of the British Empire at the age of 21. However, it was nothing short of a double-edged sword for her because it was while pursuing her degree in history did, she learn about the atrocities of the British empire on Indians, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to be a Member of its Order.

While she was born in London, her grandparents moved to the UK in the 70s, and her extended family still resides in parts of Kerala. However, after much apprehension, she decided to accept the award stating that young people of colour are underrepresented in politics and activism.

All her hard work paid off after years of determination and persistence. "That took two and a half years. I started my campaign before I could even vote, and I think that’s a testament to the fact that you can achieve change as somebody who is not represented in politics," the Global Indian said. This gave her the confidence that activism at the grassroots level can change the course of history and motivated her to pen her first book Make It Happen to inspire others to contribute to a better world through practical steps. The step-by-step guide sheds light on every possible stepping stone from how to choose a cause to how to make allies to bring change at a time when the world needs it.

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"I’m not the loudest person in the room. Neither am I the most confident. If you’d told me four years ago, I would be speaking in front of TV cameras, or that I’d be standing alone on an open stage holding a mic on the other side of the world, I wouldn’t have believed you. But the urge to act takes over, and you feel you just have to do it. That feeling comes from something which matters to you. Whatever you want to change, whatever issue you feel is demanding to be heard, it can be you who makes it happen," reads an excerpt from her book.

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