Mansi Pandya

Mansi Pandya was born and raised on the westside of Indianapolis. As a young child, she dreamed of becoming a fashion designer; however, by middle school Mansi shifted her focus to medicine after spending time with her aunt who is a physician. Mansi saw first-hand how doctors can touch and improve the lives of people in their community as well as the world at large. Through hard work and diligence, Mansi graduated from Ben Davis High School in 2016 ranked 6th in her class of more than 1000 students.

After high school, Mansi entered Butler University, where she is currently a senior majoring in Biology and Spanish and is a Butler University Academic Scholar and Morton Finney Leadership Scholar. She enjoys learning about different cultures through her involvement with various on-campus clubs, including Latinos Unidos and South Asian Student Association, tutoring elementary kids in Spanish, and her service trips to Jamaica and Spain. Recently, Mansi was interviewed by WTHR-TV Channel 13 for the faculty-led research she and other researchers at Butler University are doing to find a cure for coronavirus.

Each summer during Mansi’s tenure as a Christamore House Guild scholar, she volunteered numerous hours at the Christamore House, spending her first couple years in the senior center preparing meals, playing dominos, and, her favorite part, simply talking with the seniors and learning their stories. She also spent time with the children at the summer camp chaperoning field trips and college visits, running summer carnival events and playing with the preschoolers.

Mansi will start medical school in the fall at West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine. Osteopathic medicine emphasizes the interrelated unity of all systems in the body, each working with the other to heal in times of illness. One of Mansi’s goals is to introduce healthcare clinics to underdeveloped areas within the United States and beyond. As her high school advisor remarked, “Our society needs future contributors as Mansi, who have a strong desire to use their gifts wisely while being both personable and concerned for the well being of others.”

The Christamore House Guild is honored to award Mansi Pandya with the 2020 Marge Kroeger Award for her exceptional volunteerism at the Christamore House.