Karina Vasudeva

Associate - Cohort 002

Karina Vasudeva is a problem solver who harnesses her communication skills and love of science to devise creative and sustainable solutions for today’s real-world problems.

Prior to becoming a summer associate with Normal>Next, she actively engaged in service projects within her community addressing inequity and fostering diversity in local schools.

Vasudeva founded Project Stride with aims to alleviate menstrual hygiene poverty within the D.C. Metropolitan homeless community. This work motivated her to innovate for the millions of women around the world facing similar challenges. She invented and self-prosecuted a U.S. Patent for a novel menstrual cup, designed to provide a safe and inexpensive menstrual hygiene solution and minimize health risks associated with commercial tampons and menstrual cups currently in the market. Her invention is now undergoing prototype trials.

Driven by this passion for transformation, Vasudeva has also served as coordinator of InLight Magazine, a student-led diversity magazine in the DC Metro area. She has also been an active member of student government at the county and state levels, researching and advocating for increased mental health support for all students.

Vasudeva is a recent graduate of Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Maryland, where her academic interests spanned biomedical engineering, public health, and sociology. She plans to focus on these same areas a Morehead-Cain scholar at UNC-Chapel Hill, so that she can better serve her community.

Vasudeva aspires to be a lifelong learner and devotes her free time pursuing interests in arts, literature, and science. Her wide-ranging music taste leads her to sing opera as well as rap the lyrics of a Nicki Minaj song.