Shresta Chakilam

Shresta Chakilam is a student leader at Natick High School in Natick, Massachusetts, recognized for her work in youth advocacy, public health education, and student mentorship. She is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of GrowWithGuidance, a student-led platform created to connect high school students with mentors across a wide range of professional fields. Through her leadership roles in school organizations and statewide coalitions, she has focused on expanding access to information, leadership opportunities, and youth-driven community impact initiatives.

She founded GrowWithGuidance during her sophomore year after realizing she lacked clear, affordable access to career guidance and firsthand insight into different fields. After finding college counseling services costly and limited, she built the platform to address a gap she believed many students face: uncertainty about future careers and lack of direct exposure to professionals. GrowWithGuidance now connects more than 85 volunteer mentors nationwide with high school students, pairing them based on career interests and providing structured conversations that introduce students to real-world experiences, expectations, and pathways. Shresta also independently designed the organization’s website, manages its email communications and newsletters, and oversees its social media outreach and engagement strategy. In addition, she led an eight-student team in a Social Capital Inc. pitch competition, where they secured $1,100 in funding to develop and host a community event.

Alongside her entrepreneurial work, Shresta is actively involved in public health and policy advocacy, particularly through anti-substance use initiatives. She serves as a statewide leadership member of the 84 Movement, an initiative under the Massachusetts Department of Public Health focused on educating communities about youth substance use and the targeted marketing practices of tobacco companies, especially in vulnerable populations. Her experience in this work led her to investigate loopholes in online tobacco sales, where she personally found that flavored tobacco products—restricted in Massachusetts—could still be purchased online. Motivated by this discovery, she worked with her state representative to file legislation addressing this issue; the bill has passed the Joint Committee on Public Health and remains under consideration.

• Two awards in jazz band
• $1,100 Award from Social Capital Inc Pitch Contest

• 84 Movement (statewide leadership member)

• Founder and CEO of Growth Guidance nonprofit
• Anti-substance use advocacy with 84 Movement
• Legislative advocacy for tobacco control