Ansh Soni

Adlai E Stevenson High School

Class of 2024

Naisi’s cortical blindness always confused me.

I questioned why my family never tried to replace my cousin’s eyes. I was given the short explanation that trying to return her eyesight would only cause her more pain. My curiosity deepened as I got older; I demanded a more in-depth explanation. Naisi’s brother explained that her problem was neurological, not ocular. Her optic nerve didn’t develop fully from birth; her brain couldn’t send signals to her eyes. Sitting beside her, some part of me always tried to think of some comic book solution to her blindness, no matter how unreasonable it seemed.

Since it has been thirty years since Naisi was born, I figured there would be an answer in the field of neuroscience. While participating in a neuroscience internship at Georgetown, I discovered there is no cure to her blindness yet. However, I had an extremely enriching experience that supported my passion to learn about the brain and all of its unknown complexities. I’m drawn to this field because there is still so much to be understood and I remain excited to continue researching in order to shine light on these unknowns to help all the other Naisi’s around the world.

Naisi’s cortical blindness always confused me.

I questioned why my family never tried to replace my cousin’s eyes. I was given the short explanation that trying to return her eyesight would only cause her more pain. My curiosity deepened as I got older; I demanded a more in-depth explanation. Naisi’s brother explained that her problem was neurological, not ocular. Her optic nerve didn’t develop fully from birth; her brain couldn’t send signals to her eyes. Sitting beside her, some part of me always tried to think of some comic book solution to her blindness, no matter how unreasonable it seemed.

Since it has been thirty years since Naisi was born, I figured there would be an answer in the field of neuroscience. While participating in a neuroscience internship at Georgetown, I discovered there is no cure to her blindness yet. However, I had an extremely enriching experience that supported my passion to learn about the brain and all of its unknown complexities. I’m drawn to this field because there is still so much to be understood and I remain excited to continue researching in order to shine light on these unknowns to help all the other Naisi’s around the world.

In 2023, Ansh attended the Advanced Medical Neuroscience Internship and developed an ethical, legal, and social implication research paper.

Advanced Medical Neuroscience Internship

In fall 2023, Ansh became a Leadership Initiatives' facilitator.

Leadership Initiatives Facilitator

Leadership Initiatives has been committed to community-led projects since the organization’s founding over 15 years ago. We began working directly with communities in 2003 at a grassroots level, where we believe development has the greatest impact. It is in these communities where women, men, and youth can discover their voice, assert their rights, and mobilize action to achieve their aspirations.

ANSH'S ACHIEVEMENTS