Raunak Verma
Raunak Verma is a sophomore at High Tech High School in Secaucus. As a foundational member of his FIRST Robotics Competition team, Raunak contributed to a rookie team which won 9 awards and made it to World Championships in their first year with a limited budget, garnering international attention. Having ancestors come from a country with a large socioeconomic gap and seeing its impact before his eyes, Raunak takes an interest to expanding STEM equity. He participated in a Rutgers STEM Ambassadors kickoff program and now works on devoting time to promote STEM to children and underrepresented groups statewide. Aside from STEM, Raunak is the treasurer of his school's Model UN club and received an international honorable mention on his Model UN team. He also serves as the secretary of his school's chess club and volunteers his time teaching Jainism to children in Hudson County.