Nithya Kemp has always known that she wanted to pursue some kind of career around technology. Her kind heart and compassion toward the emotional suffering of others is impacting just what direction the teen plans to take.
Nithya is a 17-year-old senior at Newport High School in Bellevue, Wash., and is GeekWire’s Junior Geek of the Month for February. The monthly honor, presented by Northern Trust, recognizes talented young innovators, creators and entrepreneurs in the Pacific Northwest.
“For a career I would like to work mostly on the technology aspect of mental health care resources. That’s what I’m passionate about. The intersection between how we can use technology to extend these resources,” Nithya said. “It’s very important to me that whatever I do in the future will have a positive impact on people.”
Growing up in a tech-heavy environment rubbed off on Nithya, and she was exposed to coding at a young age. But it wasn’t until she got to high school and met a friend struggling with mental health issues that she knew more specifically what she was interested in.
“Mental health always seemed like a very foreign concept, like, ‘Oh, this doesn’t happen to people I know,'” Nithya said. “But then when I met her and I realized, ‘Oh, this issue is very real and it really impacts someone’s life if they have depression, it changes their whole outlook,’ it was kind of like a wake up call, I guess. It just really hit me. And so I wanted to do something about it.”
As part of her two-year Advanced Placement Capstone class in school, Nithya’s topic for the first year was accessible technology. After reading about a University of Washington study she reached out to the school’s Department of Human Centered Design and Engineering. The summer between 10th and 11th grade, she assisted on a project focused on measuring the effectiveness of connecting teens with anxiety and depression to clinicians and mental health professionals through online platforms.
“It was an interesting study. I learned a lot,” Nithya said. “I got to talk with some mental health professionals and I got to learn some stuff about depression and anxiety and about treatment methods. I also helped a little bit with the design portion during the study. And in the second half I helped with data analysis, which was fun.”
A onetime attendee of Stanford University’s Logic is Fundamental summer camp, Nithya also serves on a teen advisory board for a company called Daybreak Health, which provides online counseling for teens. She helped with navigation through the company’s app, brainstormed, prototyped and presented ideas.
Nithya, who is president of her school’s physics club and used to sing in the choir, has been coping with all the pressures impacting kids everywhere when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic. True to her nature, she’s trying a little something to help others. She started an Instagram account called Corona Mental Health Check as a way to help people deal with social isolation. Simple messages of kindness and self-care advice are intended to remind people to take care during stressful times.
“It’s very sad,” she said of the pandemic’s impact. “Mental health was already in a pretty bad state before and it just aggravates things and it creates more stressors. It’s really unfortunate.”
Nithya is keeping her options open right now when it comes to future plans and where she might go to college. At times she sounds like she would make a good psychologist or behavioral specialist.
But she can’t shake the idea that she can better help through technology.
“I feel like a lot of people need help and it’s hard for them to get help because therapists are so expensive,” Nithya said. “I just feel like this is an area that could be improved upon.”
Nominate a Junior Geek
GeekWire will feature a new Junior Geek of the Month in profiles meant to capture how they are looking to make a positive impact on the world through their geeky pursuits. In addition, they’ll receive special recognition from our project partner, Northern Trust.
Do you know an exceptional Junior Geek between the ages of 12 to 20 who is going to change the world? Submit a nomination.
Nominees must be residents of the Pacific Northwest, and parental information must be included for those nominees under the age of 18. Jr. Geeks may nominate themselves but please be sure to include your parent or guardian’s contact information.
