Shivani is a 12th grade student in Washington returning for her second year on the YPC. Her passion for preparedness began in 2018 when she found herself unexpectedly stuck in Japan during a typhoon while on family vacation. She felt scared and unprepared, which helped her understand the impact preparedness can have during an emergency. After attending FEMA’s Youth Preparedness Camp the following year, Shivani realized she has a passion for helping her community through disaster preparation.
She was selected to serve on the FEMA Region 10 YPC, where she served as co-chair and was responsible for creating regional social media outreach and videos to engage youth about preparedness and COVID-19 safety. During her first year on the national YPC, she was part of a team that developed and presented a webinar and informational pamphlet focusing on summer safety for students. In her second year, she hopes to create preparedness fair booths and integrate more preparedness initiatives into school curricula to ensure that preparedness education begins at a young age, building future generations of prepared individuals.
Shivani also helps local youth get involved in preparedness as the founder and president of her school’s Red Cross Club. As the co-director of her school’s peer mentoring program, she has led multiple anti-bullying and mental health initiatives. Shivani is a taekwondo black belt who believes in teaching others to defend themselves and be mentally ready for any situation. She has been internationally recognized for her essays on climate change by the World Affairs Council and the Northwest Association for Biomedical Research. Additionally, Shivani is president of her school’s Science National Honor Society and is an intern at a local hospital and free clinic.
Her life goal is to become a pediatrician and provide medical care to underprivileged children around the world. She is certified in adult and pediatric First Aid, CPR, AED, and Stop the Bleed, and has taken Community Emergency Response Team training.