MEET OUR TEAM
Nuyu Members
SHREYA JOSHI
Co-President, Co-Founder
Shreya is currently a senior at West-Windsor Plainsboro High School North and has been a part of Nuyu since 7th grade. Her interest in stress, mindfulness, and mental health sparked when she joined the Nuyu Community Problem Solving Team. As a part of the Nuyu Club, she hopes to remove the stigma around mental health and provide the educational community with mindfulness strategies to cope with stress. Her personal favorite coping strategies are mindful coloring, deep breathing, and mindful eating. Shreya also enjoys researching the neurobiology of stress for the Teacher Lesson Plan book Nuyu is writing. Aside from Nuyu, Shreya is interested in biology and wants to pursue a career in the medical field. She is also a Co-President of the WW-P Education Foundation Youth Committee, plays the violin, is Co-President of the HSN Medforum Club, and tutors underprivileged children. Shreya is looking forward to an amazing year and is excited to lead the Nuyu Club in its future endeavors!
MAYA MAU
Co-President, Co-Founder
Maya joined NuYu at the beginning of seventh grade when the team was formed, and is currently a senior in High School. She, along with many other students, felt that both teachers and students were not well equipped with coping strategies to deal with stress. She herself has experienced stigma surrounding mental health and actively works to encourage conversation around mindfulness and mental wellness. Maya enjoys bullet journaling and taking walks outside with her sister to practice mindfulness. Outside of NuYu, she likes rollerblading, going on long bike rides, play the piano & viola, and sewing. She is also Vice President of the National History Day club and is planning to pursue political science after high school.
PHANISREE AKSHINTHALA
Vice-President
Phanisree is currently a junior who attends West Windsor- Plainsboro High School North. She became a part of Nuyu because she noticed how the tremendous stress placed on her peers was going undiscussed. The longer she stayed in Nuyu the more her passion for mental health advocacy and mindfulness grew. She believes that it is unfair that students have had to suffer alone. Moreover, she hopes to see comprehensive mental wellness education implemented in schools in order to remove the harmful stigma associated to these conversations. She regularly mediates and takes long walks with her family. Phanisree also deeply cares for other global issues such as gender inequality and climate change. She loves meeting new people and holding conversations to learn new things. She is also one of the President’s for her school’s TEDEd Club and hopes to amplify student voices in her community. Phanisree looks forward to this year in Nuyu and cannot wait to see where our path takes us.
MARILYN ZHANG
Treasurer
Marilyn has been with this organization since it was founded. Like her other peers in this club, she joined because she was passionate about helping her classmates, teachers, and parents manage their stress- An invaluable skill that, unlike geometry and world history, is not taught in school, a problem she strives to solve with NuYu. She is currently a junior at HSN, and when she isn't working on this website, she enjoys throwing flags in marching band, studying for Academic Decathalon, and creating digital or physical art. Her greatest passion is empowering elementary students from at-risk school districts with mindfulness strategies. When she is stressed, as all humans inevitably are, she utilizes informal breathing strategies and zen doodling to cope. Overall, Marilyn is exhilarated about another year in NuYu.
DANIELLE TSENG
Member
Danielle Tseng has been a part of the team since eighth grade. Like many others on the team, she was initially drawn to Nuyu because it provided a way of directly addressing a very real problem—one that affected not only her, but her peers and teachers as well. She used to bullet journal, but has shifted towards other types of art journaling. Another one of her favorite mindfulness exercises is breathing, especially counting breaths: she finds it especially calming and grounding. Danielle is usually studying, and if not studying, then sleeping.
SREYA ANUPURU
Website Manager
Sreya Anupuru has only recently joined Nuyu, as a junior but is very passionate about mindfulness and taking care of one’s mental health. She felt that more people needed to be aware of methods to relieve stress. Sreya is always a busy bee but in her free time, she likes to practice her guard work and occasionally listening to music.
TRISTAN PAGTALUNAN
Member
Tristan joined the NuYu Club in 2019, and is currently a freshman at WW-P High School North. Along with the rest of the club, Tristan joined after realizing how it seemed like everybody held their own side of stress in a million different shapes and forms. He hopes that one day, focusing on and being able to embrace mental health is something that will apply to everybody. To relax, Tristan enjoys meditating, journaling, and taking walks - but also likes to draw and play the piano.