Metro India News | Hyderabad 

In a story that transcends borders and breaks social barriers, 16-year-old Srividya Bade Vinod from Neredmet, Secunderabad, has emerged as a shining symbol of resilience, academic brilliance, and hope for marginalized youth.

Born into a Dalit, lower-middle-class family, Srividya moved to the U.S. in 2023 in pursuit of better educational opportunities. Enrolling at Hughes STEM High School and the Cincinnati Zoo Academy in Ohio, she defied odds of caste, race, and economic struggle to rise to the top ranks of her district.

Her achievements are exceptional: she was the first Indian and first Dalit student to receive the $10,000 Greater Cincinnati African American Scholarship Fund (GCAASF), funded by GE Aerospace. She also won the Governor’s Thomas Edison Award, Darwin T. Turner Award, GE Special Award for Engineering, and the Ohio Naval Science Award.

Srividya presented ground-breaking research on nano-enhanced bio-lubricants for sustainable engineering at Columbia University’s International Conference on Sustainable Development (ICSD), where she was the only high school student to speak. She used the platform to pay tribute to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who once studied at the same institution.

For her achievements, she received a formal letter of appreciation from Telangana Legislative Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar, recognizing both her academic excellence and her advocacy for marginalized communities.

Her passion for social justice is equally strong. Through visits to the Underground Railroad Museum in Cincinnati and The Met in New York, she studied parallels between Dalit history and the African-American experience. She has been mentored by Mallepalli Laxmaiah, Special Officer of the Buddha Vanam Project.

In May 2025, Srividya pledged mentorship to disadvantaged students during the 137th birth anniversary of Bhagya Reddy Varma. As she prepares to study Mechanical Engineering with a focus on sustainability at the University of Cincinnati, she appeals for academic support. “Support me today,” she says, “and I’ll build doors for others tomorrow.”