Our Knights are truly extraordinary, as they try out various activities and find their own unique way to change the world. One of our impactful Knights is Diya Nath! Diya is only a sophomore, but has already accomplished incredible, show-stopping feats. Some of her achievements are as follows: writing a #1 International Best Seller novel, becoming CEO of Oxiblast, becoming Co-CEO of Sensehydro LLC, winning the title of “Young Social Impact Heroes”. To find out more about the behind of the scenes of her journey to receiving all these accomplishments, I spoke with Diya, and now I present the insider information to you!

Q: First of all, congratulations on all your accomplishments! Which of your accomplishments are you most proud of?

A: Thank you so much! I’m proud of all of them. However, I’m most proud of my book because I got to share a bit about myself that most people don’t know. I was struggling with my health and wanted to share what ultimately improved my well-being: smoothies! I also got to talk a bit about the research I did that shows what you eat is important. I got to delve deep into healthy eating and most of all, I got to spread this amazing information with the public. It warms my heart to know that people benefit and learn from my book. This book is my biggest symbol of education, health, and wellness; and the first step to helping people like me.

Q: I heard you won the title of “Young Social Impact Heroes” by Authority Magazine. Could you explain what the title means and how you achieved this title?

A: My mother actually nominated me for this award by providing them with everything I’ve done! They accepted her nomination and wrote an article on me after I filled out an interview application. This title means a lot to me as one of my biggest ambitions is to create a positive change in people’s lives! To be a young social impact hero means to be a positive influence in people’s lives and help them in any way. Seeing other people happy and healthy has always made me feel amazing! To receive a title that marks me as such an influence helps my confidence and inspires me to keep going! I’m grateful for this title and look forward to helping more people in the future!

Q: I’m sure time management plays a large role in your life based on everything that you have to juggle. How do you manage time? Any advice?

A: Using time management in your life is essential in every single way possible and has benefited me tremendously. One way to manage time is to try to figure out a time for yourself and to relax. This period of time should be stress-free and should be about yourself and the things you want. Many of us don’t have the opportunity to get these small precious periods of time due to our hectic schedules. Use this time to refocus, replenish, and relax so that when you have to go back to your other activities, you are more focused and have more energy. Another way to manage time is to decide which activities would be more important or easier to do and put them first in your schedule. This is also a great way to clear your mind because you are setting aside the things that are less important so you don’t have to think about them as much because they aren’t that important in the moment. Also, prioritizing things that are quick and easy to do are great for managing time too. This is because you’ll breeze through them and will get a lot more done than slumping through a long and tedious assignment. I always take these three things into consideration along with an obligation to get things done! I love to write all the things I need to do on a whiteboard with due dates and then adhere to them. It feels great to be done with a lot of things earlier than putting off all of my tasks until the due date!

Q: Congratulations on your book achieving #1 International Bestseller! Do you have any plans for writing another book? If so, what would you like it to be centered around?

A: Thank you! I’m not sure about the future, but if I do plan to write another book, it would be more research-based and include more recipes based solely on my research on the gut microbiome and the benefits of each food included! I’m very interested in researching the connection between food, the gut, and the brain, so my next book would include more in-depth research. I hope to further educate people about the importance of maintaining a healthy diet! I would also include more about keeping your mind and conscience clear since mental health is also very crucial to our body and physical health.

Q: Could you tell me a bit about your product Oxi-Blast? What is unique about it? What is it used for? What are its benefits?

A: Oxi-Blast is a powdered fruit and vegetable nutrient additive that can be added to foods! It can be added to smoothies, juices, soups, curries, teas, and even can be used as a face mask. It is unique because it is rich in flavonoids (plant metabolites that are thought to have numerous powerful health benefits) and antioxidants (compounds that inhibit oxidation or the composition of free radicals, which are molecules that can cause cell damage through chain reactions), which are essential for our body. Using just a couple spoons of Oxi-Blast a day in your meal can give you much more nutrients than biting into a juicy apple or eating a salad. It is also completely natural and has no preservatives, chemicals, or additives!

Q: Could you also tell me a bit about Sensehydro? What is the purpose of it? How can it help others?

A: SenseHydro LLC is a company for a product that I and 8 other ACP students: Sohani Sandhu, Abe Troop, Alex Kroumov, Omina Nematova, Kaitlyn Lai, Daniel Wu, Jacob Kaufman-Warner and Nealin Banerjee, invented. The product is a device that constantly monitors symptoms of heat related illness. This can help people because monitoring these symptoms can prevent heat-related illnesses and someone from becoming very ill.

Q: Could you explain the process/behind the scenes for creating both of these products? What were the similarities? How about the differences?

A: The processes for creating both of these products was surprisingly similar! Both included teamwork, outreach, research, hard work and perseverance. When developing our SenseHydro device, we applied for numerous grants, reached out and presented our product to many people, sought feedback, learned about business, and much more. For developing Oxi-Blast, I gathered my resources, created a trial version of the product, and sought mentoring and advice on starting up my own business. In both projects, I’ve received a tremendous amount of mentoring and guidance. I could not have done nearly as much without the people who’ve helped me get to where I am today!

Q: What can we expect to see from you in the future?

A: I definitely plan on doing more research projects and will probably look to write another book soon! If you follow my personal instagram account (@sakiskitchen_), you will see tons of dishes that I’ve made! I may start cooking more and more over the summer and might plan on cooking for others as a way to earn money! If we look deeper into the future, I would love to take years of research and create a restaurant with foods solely based on their impact on the gut bacteria! I don’t know what the future will hold for me, but I look forward to doing more for people in the future!

I would like to thank Diya for taking time out of her busy schedule to answer some of my questions. Congratulations to you on everything you’ve accomplished. You, and every single Knight, have already made ACP very proud and I am sure we all can’t wait to see what you and other Knights achieve next. Don’t forget to continue to strive for the impossible and be extraordinary!