Devashi (Dia) Paliwal is a medical student at the Australian National University, passionate about youth education and global health issues including migrant and refugee health. 

Having grown up in a small rural town in India, she has both witnessed and experienced issues surrounding gender inequality in a patriarchal society. Having learnt the value of equal opportunity, equal rights and freedom, she believes in a world that doesn’t leave anyone behind. Potential is universal, but opportunities, rights and freedoms are not. This has inspired her to be a fierce advocate and changemaker for the advancement of women and youth education globally.

Paliwal is an active volunteer for community organisations, such as Migrants and Refugees Services Australia, Australian Red Cross, Asian Medical Student Association International, Doctors for the Environment Australia, ANU COVID-19 Global Peer Support Program, ANU Women in Leadership, and Global Health society.

She finds great meaning in interacting with diverse people, hearing their stories, and exploring herself and the world through travel and learning new skills. Apart from making people smile through her not-so-funny jokes, she spends her leisure time with family and friends, dancing, playing the ukulele, practising martial arts, and experimenting with multinational cooking recipes in her kitchen laboratory.