Her dedication to service has recently earned her the prestigious 2026 Tristen Sloane Student Award as part of the Presidential Awards for Community Multicultural Enrichment at VCU.

Khanna started her journey in health care at age 10, volunteering at a nursing home. This early experience sparked her passion for helping others. She first attended Virginia Tech and was an active student leader, but after two years, she transferred to VCU to follow her interest in nursing. Now, she works as a patient care tech in the neonatal intensive care unit at VCU Health System. Khanna says the role is very rewarding, and caring for the hospital's smallest and strongest patients inspires her every day.

Outside of her clinical work, Khanna is active in legislative and social advocacy and has a strong background in creative storytelling. In high school, she co-founded a student filmmaking team that focused on important social justice topics, including the Black Lives Matter movement and environmentalism. She also worked with a global director to explore how climate change affects women in India.

In 2024, Khanna’s advocacy played a key role in passage of House Bill 1221, which expanded menstrual health education in Virginia for students in grades 4 through 8. That same year, she started the nonprofit "Sincerely, People With Periods" to fight period inequity in Richmond by giving out products and teaching youth and foster teens. In 2025, Khanna raised funds to donate more than 140 backpacks and 100 period kits for back-to-school, and she gave out more than 1,200 pads to groups like immigrant support centers and LGBTQ+ organizations. She is now working with the Virginia Department of Education, doctors and illustrators to create a new menstrual health curriculum for Virginia schools.

Khanna’s work also reaches a global and academic level. As an ambassador for The Pad Project, she directed a documentary about period poverty around the world, sharing stories from the U.S., U.K., Brazil and Uganda. Through VCU’s Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship Fellow program, she presented her research at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research on April 14. Her research looks at maternal health and the history of reproductive inequity. Khanna also supports reproductive justice, has testified before state delegates, and works with groups like ReproRising.

​Looking ahead, Khanna will graduate with her B.S. degree in December 2027 from the School of Nursing and has big plans for the future. She wants to earn her Ph.D. and use her research and nursing experience to make real policy changes. She also hopes to help women in underserved communities, like her partners in Uganda, gain economic independence, start sustainable businesses and get better access to health care. Through her clinical work, legislative wins and global outreach, Khanna shows that one dedicated student can make a difference around the world.