Rishita Rokariya
Class of 2028
Hometown: Tampa, Florida
Major: Biology and Spanish
Rishita is a biology and Spanish double major on the pre-med track. On campus, she serves as the President of Hindu YUVA and a member of UNC Charlotte’s competitive Bollywood fusion dance team. Her civic engagement projects include the IBD Pediatric Patient Initiative in partnership with Atrium and Heart2Heart, which gives free CPR training to community members. She is also an intern for Camino Salud’s Research Institute and volunteers in their community clinic. Her research experience includes authoring a chapter for a pharmaceutical textbook with the USF Taneja College Pharmacy about the disease burden of neurocognitive disorders and working in UNC Charlotte’s Afonin Lab to develop nucleic acid nanoparticles for therapeutic delivery. She has a strong interest in public health and completed an internship with the Mecklenburg County Public Health Department working with the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Team. Her international experience includes a summer study abroad at Stellenbosch University in South Africa where she gained a valuable international perspective, and researched primary care within Cape Town. In her free time, she enjoys exploring community events, going to festivals and dancing!