The H.U.M.AN.S. Initiative Story
In 2020, while world was in Covid and school was on zoom, Aanya felt that she and her friends needed more interaction with each other, so she started an afternoon games club on zoom – no agenda, no learning – just a safe place where HM middle schoolers gathered to listen to music, play games and laugh together to get through Covid.

Having attended pre-college programs in neuroscience at Columbia and Brown and as a Soprano at the Manhattan School of Music, Aanya realized how music can support mental health. In 2022, she launched The H.U.M.AN.S. Initiative: Healing mental health Using Music ANd Song to support her peers.

As a mental health advocate, Aanya spread awareness about the widespread teenage mental health issue and taught educational programs to support middle schoolers. She conducted music therapy sessions as part of a cognitive rehabilitation program for patients with neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinsons, PTSD and Dementia at the Institute of Music and Neurologic Function.

While initially designed to be an awareness campaign for teenage mental health, the initiative has gained significant traction and recognition and quickly developed to be much more.