Welham Girls' School

Ms Nandita Kanchan (Batch of 1984) received the prestigious 'CBDT Certificate of Excellence' on 21st August, 2024, during the celebrations of 165 years of Income Tax. The award was conferred upon Ms Kanchan by the Hon’ble Finance Minister of India Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman. Ms Kanchan is an officer of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) of 1993 batch and currently posted as Principle Commissioner of Income Tax in New Delhi. A proud moment for us all at Welham!

Ms. Mahima Kaul (Batch of 2021) has recently joined Netflix as Director of Public Policy. Kaul is former Director, APAC Public Policy, Bumble and has had an impressive career graph. She worked at Twitter, The Indian Express, NewsX, Australia India Institute, TV News International, The Open Communication Foundation, and Observer Research Foundation, to name a few. WGS wishes Ms Kaul the best for her new position at Netflix!

Ms Mahima Marwah (nee Tanka) of the Batch of 1997 has been appointed as the Chief Client Experience and Marketing Officer, Asia. Marwah will be responsible for leading the client and marketing strategy across Asia to grow brand health, deepen client engagement and inform product innovation to meet client needs. She has held roles previously at FWD and Allianz.

A kingfisher is on the Times Square billboard! Ishika Agarwal, batch of 2020, has been featured on the iconic 1585 Morgan Stanley billboard on Times Square. She has started her internship with Morgan Stanley as a Portfolio Analytics for hedge funds. In Ishika's message to school : "I owe a great deal of my success to the education and support I received at Welham. Without Welham, this achievement wouldn’t have been possible. I am truly honoured to represent our esteemed alma mater in this endeavour. Specially a big thank you to all my teachers without whom this would have not been possible." We are so proud to watch you soar Ishika!

Aditi Bhowmick, Batch of 2012, has done us proud! A Tata Scholar at Cornell University and a Masters from Princeton University, Bhowmick is now an incoming Ph.D Scholar at Harvard University. Bhowmick will be pursuing Public Policy from the prestigious Harvard Kennedy School. Bhowmick was previously working as India Director at Development Data Lab. At DDL, she co-authored a study on in-group bias in the Indian judiciary, and helped build an ongoing research agenda at the intersection of social norms and access to economic opportunity, in addition to fundraising and outreach responsibilities. Congratulations Aditi!

Kajal Bawa (Batch of 2015) has been awarded the Chancellor's Merit Scholarship to pursue the Young India Fellowship at Ashoka University for the academic year, 2023-24. Kajal is a professional Bharatantyam dancer and has studied History from Lady Shri Ram College for Women (Bachelor’s) and Department of History, University of Delhi (Master’s). Her passion for history and dance has led her to explore the interconnections between the two. She has presented this research at national and international conferences. Kajal has previously worked at the Ministry of Culture to link cultural activities with education and is currently involved in documenting family histories for a publishing house. Way to go Kajal!

Ekshu Sharma (Batch of 2014), released her debut novel, a historical fiction set in Jammu and Kashmir in the years 1947-48. Published by National Book Trust as part of PM YUVA SERIES. It is now available on Amazon.

Aarushi Aggarwal (Batch of 2015) has been admitted to the prestigious Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, the alma mater of Dr. Shashi Tharoor. Aarushi has also received aid as the Climate Policy Lab Scholar. After passing out of Welham, she studied history and international relations at Ashoka University. She completed an advanced bachelor’s degree in 2019. Subsequently, she worked with Invest India, the national investment promotion and facilitation agency as a researcher for two years. Congratulations Aarushi!

Ms. Jyoti Mathur-Filipp has been selected by the United Nations Secretary General as Executive Secretary for the Secretariat that will lead the global negotiations on a new treaty on plastics. She will assume her new functions as Executive Secretary on 15 August, 2022. Ms. Mathur-Filipp brings to the position 28 years of experience in the United Nations system, environmental conventions and global environmental funds. She currently serves as Director for Implementation at the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), leading the work on the development and negotiations for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. During her career, she has worked with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Adaptation Fund and the Green Climate Fund (GCF). Over the years, she has covered a wide range of topics, from environmental governance and negotiations, to policy, programming, partnership development and resource mobilization. Ms. Mathur-Filipp also has in-depth experience working with private sector partners, including with NetAid – the first private-public partnership between the UN and a large corporation – the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH), REDD+ in Jakarta and Geneva, as well as with the Secretariat of CBD. She holds a Master of Science (MSc.) in urban planning from the New School for Social Research and an MBA from Baruch College. We wish her the very best!

Praggya Surana (Orioles, Batch of 2010) has been granted one of the limited fully funded positions by the International Law department of Graduate Institute of Geneva. The Graduate Institute boasts of such alumni as Kofi Annan(ex Secretary General of UNO)! Praggya researches international law and geopolitics. She is currently an Assistant Professor at OP Jindal Global University and a PhD candidate in international law at the Graduate Institute, Geneva. She completed an undergraduate law degree from National Law School of India University, Bangalore and an LL.M. degree from Harvard Law School. She has previously worked at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies, a think tank associated with the Indian army and been a fellow at Kolleg-Forschungsgruppe - International Law: Rise or Decline, Berlin. Congratulations!

Popular actor, host, editor and writer, Sukhmani Sadana made her debut at the prestigious 75th Cannes Film Festival for the world premiere of R Madhavan’s ‘Rocketry: The Nambi Effect’. Sadana, who juggles several hats, co-wrote the script for the movie which premiered at the film festival on 19th May. She has written scripts for several OTT platforms and is a familiar face on the screen with a medley of impressive roles both in movies and webseries. Way to go Sukhmani! Super proud of your achievements!

And we have a winner here! Ex-Welhamite Diksha Joshi (B/530), of the 2013 batch, has cracked the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam this year and secured 19th all-India rank ! This was Diksha’s third attempt. She completed her MBBS in 2019. Congratulations Diksha!!

We are on cloud 9 already! Shreya Rastogi, of the Batch of 2014, is part of the team which has developed a prototype of a flying taxi. Her ePlane Firm recently displayed a static prototype of the two-seater — one seat for pilot and one passenger — electrical vertical take-off and touchdown (eVTOL) at the Bharat Drone Mahotsav in New Delhi. Rastogi, a licensed private pilot herself, told the press that India will soon pave the way for urban air mobility through eVTOLs. Her company plans to develop a craft that can operate from rooftops. She also added that they plan to have the first human trials by 2023. Shreya accomplished aerospace engineering from the College of California, Davis, in 2018 and then worked for NASA to develop a new spacesuit materials. At NASA, Rastogi had led a workforce of 5 engineers to develop brand new nano-composite supplies for spacesuit and crew floor mobility functions. Best of luck Shreya. We hope you continue to soar higher!

Mrs. Rajni Sekhri Sibal, a civil servant and a prolific writer has released her latest book ' The Guru: Guru Nanak's Saakhis', a collection of saakhis about the life of Guru Nanak – the wise and compassionate founder of Sikhism. The book explores events in Guru Nanak Dev's life that give an insight into the thoughts and beliefs of a sagacious and humane person – an enlightened soul. The narratives, built on oral recounts, underscore the wisdom of a pure gentle soul with a world-view that is rational. ‘The Guru: Guru Nanak's Saakhis’ is a collection of 500-year-old anecdotes about an inquisitive child who questioned the world around him; – a perceptive teenager who thought rationally in an irrational world; – an informed youngster who looked for the logic behind the extant norms and mores; – a wise and empathetic human being who tried to obliterate prejudices that were deep-rooted in society – and a gentle, serene and pure soul who spread harmony, peace and compassion. Ms Sibal has authored several books including: ‘Clouds End and Beyond’, an anthology of verses and ‘Kamadhenu’, a coffee table book published by Wisdomtree; ‘Are You Prepared for a Disaster?” – a book to generate awareness about disaster risk reduction published by Bloomsbury; ‘Fragrant Words’, an anthology of verses brought out by Bloomsbury; ‘The Haunting Himalayas’, a Haranand publication of esoteric short stories set in the mountains; ‘Asariri’, a mystical novel published by Bloomsbury; and her latest ‘Women of Influence: Ten Extraordinary IAS Careers’ a collection of true events published by Penguin. Congratulations Ms Sibal!

Another feather to the Welham cap! Dr. Swati Dhingra, of the batch of 1998, will be joining the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England on 9th September this year. She is the first Asian woman to be appointed to the role. Dr. Dhingra is an Associate Professor at the London School of Economics and an elected member of the Council of the Royal Economic Society. She is also on the Editorial Board of the Review of Economic Studies and an Associate Editor for the Journal of International Economics. After passing her Class XII examination, Dr Dhingra received her undergraduate degree from the University of Delhi, her MA from the Delhi School of Economics, and her MS and PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is currently a Director of The Royal Mint Museum and a member of the Steering Group for The Economy 2030 Inquiry. Congratulations Dr. Dhingra!

Proud to share that Ms. Garima Shekhar (Ex B 94/2008), a Fulbright Scholar and the Founder of Evolving Being, the only liberal arts-focused admissions consultancy in India, has been selected among the top 30 women entrepreneurs by Technoserve India in 2021 for her work at Evolving Being. She studied Economics at Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi. She also received a 100% scholarship to pursue Young India Fellowship. At Welham, she was the school topper in SC's (2008) and bagged most of the academic awards including the Faculty Trophy for Sustained Academic Excellence. Congratulations Ms Shekhar and wish you spread your wings further and soar higher!

It is a proud moment for us! The WELHAM BREATHE campaign started by the Welham Girls’ Alumni Association (WGAA) for COVID relief has been recognized nationally! The campaign was featured on international and National media platforms including Gulf News, NewsX and Newslaundry amongst others. WELHAM BREATHE was a collaboration of the alumni network with Mission Oxygen, a non-profit initiative to help provide Oxygen to critical patients battling for their lives in hospitals during the deadly second wave of the Covid 19 Pandemic in India. Spearheaded by Disha Chopra (Batch of 2001) and Anjna Shastri (Batch of 2002) WELHAM BREATHE activated the Welham Community and generated funds for over 50 Oxygen Concentrators that were distributed in the worst affected Delhi-NCR region - in turn saving thousands of lives. The endeavor was further supported by the Cornell Public Affairs Society (Cornell University, USA) with students and Indians living outside the country contributing to WELHAM BREATHE and helping the campaign reach its target within half the time! The Welham community has in fact been a beacon of hope through out the COVID Pandemic in India with the Welham alumni having raised funds for an entire flight of stranded migrants helping them reunite with their families in 2020 during the national lockdown. They hope to inspire other alumni networks to come together in times of crisis so that the power of community reverberates The world over.

Acclaimed director and ex Welhamite, Sujata Kulshreshtha’s (Class of 1979) latest production ‘India 2050’, created by her company Wide Angle Films in association with Discovery channel, has bagged a triple A - Best Documentary, Best Direction, Best Cinematography- at the Asian Academy Creative Awards, Singapore! The documentary takes a hard hitting look at the climate change threat in India and the climate emergency we are in. Sujata (Verma) Kulshreshtha is the founder of Wide Angle Films (www.wideanglefilms.in), a video production house based in Noida. After finishing her schooling, Sujata did a 5-½ Masters in Visual Communication from the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad. Watch the trailer of the documentary at https://youtu.be/rQIS0Z2et08 We are so proud of her!