The National Hemophilia Foundation is pleased to announce that Nitya Bhattarai of Orange, CT is the recipient of the 2019 Kevin Child Scholarship (KCS). Nitya Bhattarai, who has severe hemophilia B, is currently a freshman at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, CT and a member of the UConn Honors College. He is planning to pursue an undergraduate degree in pharmacy studies with the goal of working as a pharmacist.
While in high school, Nitya furthered his interest in biomedical science through two impressive research internships – one studying autism spectrum disorder in mice at New York University and another looking at Factor IXa as a regulator of thrombin generation at George Washington University in Washington, DC.
Yet Nitya has also shown a tremendous commitment to helping the bleeding disorders community – whether it be by raising money for Save One Life, volunteering his time at Yale New Haven Hospital, serving as a counselor at ‘Hole-in the Wall Gang’ camp in CT and providing assistance to the work of two area chapters – the Connecticut Hemophilia Society and the New England Hemophilia Association.
Nitya participated in legislative advocacy day efforts in Connecticut and has been a past participant at NHF’s Washington Days event. In 2018, Nitya received a Teen Impact Award for Excellence in Leadership.
As someone interested in the lives of people in the developing world, Nitya founded and led a UNICEF club at his high school. On a recent trip to Nepal, he met with hemophilia patients in Kathmandu, which helped shape his outlook on the world and how he might positively impact it.
In selecting Nitya as the 2019 KCS award recipient from among 26 other promising candidates, the Child family said it was Nitya’s impressive resume and his contributions to the broader hemophilia community here in the US and abroad – that ultimately made him stand out from the other very qualified applicants.
This scholarship is named in tribute to Kevin Child, who died of AIDS in 1989, shortly before graduating from college. In honor of Kevin’s legacy, the Child family hopes this scholarship program will provide some assistance for students striving to acquire a higher education.
The application deadline for next year’s KCS will be posted on NHF’s website in early 2020.
The scholarship is awarded annually to a student with hemophilia A or B who is either a high school senior planning to attend an institution of higher education or a student already pursuing a post-secondary education.
Your contribution can help sustain this long-standing scholarship program.
