Arianna Sukhdeo, Future Doctor and Scholarship Winner

Lead With Empathy

With a $5,000 local scholarship to her name, determined medical student and community advocate Arianna Sukhdeo is following her lifelong dream of becoming a doctor at Johns Hopkins University while also studying the sociology around medicine. She credits Scholarships.com with finding her the financial support she needs to fund her interdisciplinary education.

Sukhdeo’s path to the medical field began when she was a child living in the heart of New York City: “There’s such a liveliness [there] you can’t get anywhere else,” she said, recalling fondly the famous yellow taxis and streetscapes of her hometown. “You step out into the city and there’s always so much to do.”

Of all the activities at hand, though, there was nothing Sukhdeo loved more than spending time with family and friends. As one of the oldest cousins in her family and most empathetic members of her friend circle, she was often the first to find out when someone needed a listening ear or words of wisdom— and she was thrilled to be able to help.

“There was part of me that wanted to care for people in a humanitarian aspect,” Sukhdeo said, “and also to understand the foundational medical aspects of that.” So she continued through her primary education with the goal of becoming a doctor.

“It is a common misconception among patients that doctors aren’t ‘empathetic’, and I want to be an inspiration to change that mindset,” she elaborated. “I want to approach my future patients with care and love, not just go in, give them a checkup, and leave the office.”

“When I approached Scholarships.com, everything was laid out,” Sukhdeo said. “The searches were very nice and manageable. You could sort for what you wanted to find.”

Sukhdeo attended a STEM-focused high school in pursuit of that goal, but made sure to balance her science and health courses with humanities-based ones. Her curiosity extended beyond scientific formulas and lab work; she was equally fascinated by the human stories behind every diagnosis and discovery.

She especially enjoyed leading the extracurricular STEM Magazine group in her senior year, which published student writing in a professional magazine format. Even though it was a small club, the work was rewarding.

“Creating this network, talking about scientific aspects we’re all passionate about, and sharing that with our school— I saw a lot of community bonds and love with it,” she said. Participating taught her to incorporate creativity and thoughtfulness into her leadership, now a crucial piece of her personal philosophy.

By the time she began to think about college, Sukhdeo knew she wanted to study somewhere with that same passion in its atmosphere; Johns Hopkins was the perfect candidate. But it wouldn’t be easy.

“When connecting to different clubs or networking with students across the city… [I noticed the financial issue] was constantly being talked about: ‘Okay, well, I got into this really good school, but how do I pay for it?’” Neither taking out hefty student loans or working throughout college was a good option. So Sukhdeo decided to start applying for scholarships.

“If you search up ‘scholarships for me’ or ‘scholarships in my local area,’ things like that… you will find Scholarships.com,” she said. This was the key to her success.

“When I approached Scholarships.com, everything was laid out,” Sukhdeo said. “The searches were very nice and manageable. You could sort for what you wanted to find.” In her case, that meant local scholarships with eligibility requirements that catered to her particular interests. That way, she would have the greatest chance of winning.

“I’m looking upon these students who are probably in their second or third year of college, and they list all the scholarships they’ve won in the past,” she said. “It encourages me and keeps me motivated."

Aside from Scholarships.com’s award matching system, what truly stood out to Sukhdeo was the encouragement built into the platform itself. Hundreds of testimonials from real winners gave her the confidence she needed to keep applying when things got tough.

“I’m looking upon these students who are probably in their second or third year of college, and they list all the scholarships they’ve won in the past,” she said. “It encourages me and keeps me motivated. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any testimonials on other websites besides Scholarships.com.”

Thanks to Scholarships.com, Sukhdeo was a scholarship applying pro by the time her senior year rolled around; “Navigating through Scholarships.com, you know right away: this is a scholarship I can apply for,” she explained, “and then you just dive into the application.”

And that’s exactly what she did. Sukhdeo used Scholarships.com to apply for the $5,000 New York Islanders Community Leadership Scholarship. Awarded to 5 graduating seniors in metropolitan New York who have significantly benefited their communities through leadership, it was the perfect match. The win still came as a shock, though.

“It was this moment of, ‘did I actually just win this money?’” Sukhdeo said, emphasizing the importance of the financial support and emotional validation alike. “Any student from New York could have applied, and to know that I was one of the 5 students who got the scholarship made me very proud of myself. It made my family proud.”

“I think that’s probably the biggest thing: making not just yourself proud, but the people around you proud,” she decided— and at Johns Hopkins, Sukhdeo is continuing to do just that.

As a participant in the Medicine, Science, and the Humanities program, she’s putting empathy, critical thinking, and literary skills to use while she completes her pre-med requirements. She also finds purpose in connecting with her peers through mentoring and student-led clubs, where collaboration and compassion are at the heart of every initiative; she enjoys sparking meaningful conversations about equity in healthcare and the intersections of science and social awareness.

In fact, Sukhdeo has even started a global tutoring initiative, Passion With Collaboration, to help students in her community and beyond. “It’s about making knowledge accessible,” she explained. “No one should feel left behind when it comes to learning, especially not because of financial barriers or lack of academic resources. Education should be a bridge, not a boundary.”

“Navigating through Scholarships.com, you know right away: this is a scholarship I can apply for,” she explained, “and then you just dive into the application.”

“You’re not going to get every opportunity in life, and I can definitely say that a lot of scholarships I applied to, I did not get— but the ones that I did, I was very grateful for,” Sukhdeo said. Her advice to scholarship seekers is to start early, be passionate, and be patient.

“Don’t doubt yourself,” she concluded. “It’s a matter of time.”