Anna Park

After the traumatic loss of her baby brother, Anna transformed personal grief into a powerful global movement. He was stillborn after her mother suffered abuse from Anna’s father – abuse fuelled by an ancient Korean superstition that disabled children bring shame. But rather than accept that narrative, she fought to rewrite it.

At just 16, she founded Down to Work, a now-international non-profit that has helped over 10,000 individuals with Down syndrome secure employment. The platform features a job-matching algorithm built by Anna herself, complete with sensory filters, communication style matching, and visual navigation tools designed for neurodiverse users. The initiative isn’t just about getting jobs – it’s about reshaping how society sees disabled people.

Anna also created an online creative gallery where over 500 disabled artists have earned more than $10,000 in commissions by reclaiming harmful folklore through art and storytelling. She further launched Angels’ Science Research Initiative (ASRI), mentoring over 100 underrepresented students to publish interdisciplinary research at the intersection of science, culture, and disability.

Academically, she has excelled against immense odds – studying by laundromat light, navigating shelter life, and caring for her younger sister – yet still earned national science awards and presented research at Harvard. Anna’s work has been recognised by the International Society of Interdisciplinary Business Research and as a Governor’s STEM Scholar.

Her influence extends beyond her own nonprofit. She has led training for over 50 teachers, worked with 15+ businesses to implement inclusive hiring practices, and helped school districts adopt communication tools and curricula for disabled students. She also launched certification programmes in CPR, First Aid, and digital literacy, helping over 200 students gain real credentials.

Internationally, her impact reaches from Uganda to Kyrgyzstan. Anna has partnered with youth groups and advocates to adapt Down to Work’s tools in culturally responsive ways – grounded in local storytelling traditions but rooted in science and dignity.

If awarded the Global Student Prize, she plans to scale Down to Work to 1 million users, launch 15 youth-led regional hubs, create a Myth + Medicine Global Summit, translate resources into six major world languages, and fund 30 global fellowships for disabled youth. Her goal is simple yet revolutionary: build a world where no child grows up believing they are broken.

Through tech, storytelling, and advocacy, Anna is proving that disability is not a curse – but a source of creativity, power, and leadership. And with her movement only just beginning, she’s showing the world that dignity isn’t an aspiration – it’s a birthright.