A few months ago, our Board of Directors announced the creation of the Harvardwood Prize, founded to recognize and celebrate the artistic accomplishments and potential of high school students who exemplify our mission. We are now delighted to announce that we have selected a winner for the inaugural Harvardwood Prize. Please join us in congratulating Brammhi Balarajan, a high school junior from Las Vegas, NV!

About Brammhi

Brammhi Balarajan is a writer, a dancer, and a leader. She prides herself in having established the Writers for the LA Times club at her school, The Meadows, which has allowed her community members to broaden their horizons and share their opinions on important issues they face. Several of these articles have garnered hundreds of views, helping to raise awareness for political issues as well as problematic aspects in film, literature, and culture. She was the recipient of a Silver Key award for the Scholastic Writing Awards, as well as the recipient of a Volunteer Service Award from the governor. She has interned at Ameriprise and Hylunia, volunteered with several organizations including the Summerlin Library, and leads a youth organization in raising health awareness.

Above all, Brammhi loves dancing, and spends her free time teaching young kids the art of bharatanatyam, and choreographing group numbers for various events. She has been writing novels since the age of nine, and has always been intrigued by fantasy and paranormal stories. In her free time, Brammhi loves reading, watching Disney movies with her friends, drinking lots of coffee, and maintaining long-distance friendships with her cousins and old friends.