An entrepreneur at heart, Pravneet takes an active role in his community and school.  He’s in the gifted Academy at Mountain Ridge High School, maintaining a weighted GPA of 4.85. 

During the pandemic, he began to wonder if social media was impacting his own mental health, and that of other teens. He noticed many of his friends were hooked on TikTok as a way to connect and escape the reality of the world.  This discovery inspired him to do a research project called “Social Media: Fire or Trash,” to study the effects of social media. He looked at data from 110 participants and found a possible link between increased depression and social media use. He’s currently working with the University of Kansas to formalize his research and publish a manuscript.

This work led him to another study on color blindness using a novel technology and LED metamers at the Arizona State University SCENE Research program. The project earned a prestigious award from the Arizona Science and Engineering Fair. In addition to his research, Pravneet is very involved in various organizations and clubs. He serves as the president of the World Language Club, Secretary of the HOSA Club, and treasurer of the Medical Explorer Club. He also serves as the Youth Ambassador for “Points of Light” and “Giving Tuesday” Spark Chapter leader, engaging youth globally to find their passion in giving back to the community.

He and his brother founded a nonprofit called Project Smile AZ in 2020. They make handmade cards for hospitalized patients and Title I schools and organize donation drives to benefit children with developmental disabilities, veterans, or special projects like the Maui wildfires. He has led summer internships over the last 2 years to inspire youth to be changemakers, follow their talent, and bring smiles to the world. Through Project Smile AZ, he has shared over 90,000 smiles in the last 4 years through handmade cards, hygiene kits, upcycling gently used books, trail clean-ups, clothing drives, snack kits, art kits, inspirational webinars, and in-person events.