Kathmandu, Nepal

Exploring ideas.Building things.Finding my path.

I turn ideas into things people can use: a working website, a committee resolution, or a project that makes a problem easier to understand. Technology gives me the tools; research, community work, and creativity teach me who they're actually for.

01 — ABOUT

Curious about what happens when different ideas meet.

I like working across disciplines: technology, research, presentations, art, music, and community projects. I'm drawn to questions that don't have just one way of being answered.

That's why a data project and a mandala drawing can live on the same page. Both start with curiosity and end with something I can share with someone else.

  • Technology
  • Business
  • Data & AI
  • Cybersecurity
  • Sustainability
Portrait of Prajina Shakya

02 — ACADEMICS & SKILLS

Academic foundation and the skills I'm building.

St. Mary's Higher Secondary School

Jawalakhel, Lalitpur, Nepal

  • Grade 12 · Class of 2026
  • Computer Management
  • Coursework included computer applications, programming, databases, problem-solving, and management.

Technical skills

HTML · CSS · Python · SQL · Web Development

Academic skills

Research · Logical Problem-Solving · Data Analysis

Leadership skills

Public Speaking · Presentation · Facilitation · Team Coordination · Collaboration

Certifications

Introduction to Cybersecurity Awareness
HP LIFE & HP Foundation · 2026
Professional Networking for Career Growth
HP LIFE & HP Foundation · 2026
Certified Nail Technician
Nail art & design course · 2026

Current Learning

AI(SI) Learning Program
American Spaces Nepal · 2026

Exploring how artificial intelligence can be applied to real-world ideas and problems.

Featured credential

Turning an interest into a certified skill.

Introduction to Cybersecurity Awareness
HP LIFE & HP Foundation · 2026

Certificate of completion: Introduction to Cybersecurity Awareness, HP LIFE and HP Foundation

03 — PROJECTS

Things I've built.

01

PERSONAL PORTFOLIO WEBSITE · HTML · CSS · WEB DESIGN

Personal Portfolio Website

Built and coded this site from scratch to bring my academic work, MUN experiences, certificates, community work, and creative practice into one place.

It pushed me to think about how someone unfamiliar with my work would navigate and understand it.

02

DATA · SUSTAINABILITY · TECHNOLOGY

Environmental Data Project

A research project on air pollution in Kathmandu Valley that brings together World Bank and WHO evidence and open data, and presents it in a simple, understandable format.

It connects my interest in technology and data with environmental issues that affect communities.

Key finding: The World Bank (2025) links air pollution to about 26,000 premature deaths a year in Nepal and an average of 3.4 years of lost life expectancy (national estimate).

View the project: Breathing Kathmandu →

04 — LEADERSHIP

Model United Nations.

Since 2019: research, public speaking, negotiation, and committee work.

  1. 2022

    Vice Chair, UNFCCC Committee

    Chaired sessions on climate policy, sustainable development, and youth climate action, facilitating discussion among 20+ delegates.

    The experience taught me that leadership is not always about having the strongest voice in the room. It is about creating enough structure and confidence for everyone else to contribute.

  2. 2023

    Delegate, Commission on the Status of Women

    Researched an assigned country's position on gender policy and represented it in committee discussions and negotiations, turning research into arguments and negotiating toward shared solutions.

  3. 2019

    Logistics Team

    Supported conference organization through group assignments, communication, and behind-the-scenes coordination, which showed me how much successful events depend on people working reliably together.

Prajina at a Model United Nations conference Model United Nations committee session

05 — COMMUNITY

Showing up beyond the classroom.

Experiences that connected me with environmental, social, and community-focused work.

01

Bagmati River Clean-Up

MALPI OUTREACH PROGRAM

Joined 70+ volunteers and collected 7–8 large bags of waste in a single day. One of the most memorable moments was seeing passersby begin joining on their own, showing me how visible action can encourage others to get involved.

02

Cancer Awareness Cycling Rally

VOLUNTEER CYCLIST

Rode in a breast cancer awareness campaign with 200+ participants. Along the route I spoke with a passerby about why awareness mattered, a small interaction that showed me community work can begin with simply starting a conversation.

03

Preschool Volunteering

HAPPY HOME MONTESSORI AND DAYCARE

Supported young children with letters, music, coloring, and everyday routines. Teaching taught me patience and attentiveness, and my favorite moment was always when a child finally understood something they had been struggling with.

Volunteering with children at Happy Home Montessori Cyclists at the cancer awareness rally

06 — CREATIVE WORK

Creativity in different forms.

VISUAL ART · MANDALA INK

Detail, patience, and a little bit of obsession.

Mandala art started for me as lockdown boredom and turned into something I fell in love with. I sketch in pencil, build each section detail by detail, then trace everything in ink.

My Ganesh mandala took almost five days. A distant relative saw an earlier piece online and asked for one, and it eventually made its way to her home in America.

Mandala drawing in black inkSecond detailed ink mandala

ACRYLIC PAINTING

Exploring color, texture, and place.

I used acrylics to paint a Himalayan landscape, bringing together snow-covered peaks, a suspension bridge, prayer flags, and the surrounding hills. Working across these different elements challenged me to explore texture, depth, and the ways color can bring a landscape to life. But the painting became more than a study in technique. The mountains stand so tall and so still that every time I looked at them, I felt like I wanted to stand tall too. Painting them was a quiet reminder of home, and of the strength I’m still growing into.

Acrylic painting by Prajina

MUSIC · VOCALS, GUITAR, HARMONICA

Finding My Sound.

Singing started with my dad, who made it look effortless. For a long time I didn't trust that I was any good, until friends at school told me I was, and house competitions followed.

Singing alone always felt incomplete, so I picked up guitar. The first song I sang and played at the same time was “Stand By Me,” still a core memory. Harmonica came from one thing: the harmonica line in “Piano Man.”

Prajina playing guitarPrajina playing harmonica

DANCE

A constant since preschool.

I've danced since preschool, and my school offered classes from a young age. I've performed in group settings, including a competition where our team placed second.

What keeps me coming back is how dance lets me express things that are sometimes difficult to put into words.

Prajina dancing

NAIL ART & DESIGN · CERTIFIED NAIL TECHNICIAN

Turning a small interest into a skill.

Nail art has interested me since I was young. During my gap after Grade 12, I turned that casual interest into an actual skill, took classes, and earned my certification.

What I enjoy most is bringing my art background into small, intricate designs where even the smallest detail matters.

Close-up of hand-painted nail art practice set

07 — SPORTS & STAYING ACTIVE

Movement on my own terms.

Swimming has been with me the longest. I trained outside school, never as part of a team or competition. It was simply mine, and it's the one activity where my mind goes quiet.

Football and badminton became more regular in Grade 10, and I still play with friends when I can. All three give me a way to step away from studying and screens, move, and be present.

WHAT CONNECTS IT ALL

Curiosity, creativity, and the willingness to keep learning.

Every section on this page started with a question I wanted to explore — through code, research, a committee room, community work, or a paintbrush. I use research and technology to make ideas usable, and creative and community work to make them human.

  • Technology
  • Leadership
  • Creativity
  • Community

08 — CONTACT

This is only the beginning.

I'm continuing to explore the space between technology, research, leadership, community, and creativity, and I'm looking forward to the next project, opportunity, or conversation that gives me another question to pursue.

[email protected]

Download résumé (PDF)

Kathmandu, Nepal