Student Profile: Rhea Mendiratta, MPP Class of 2026

I’m looking forward to challenging myself to think beyond my experiences: to get fresh inspiration and renewed thinking. I’m excited to be surrounded by the vast mix of policy thinkers from so many different backgrounds.”

“New Delhi, India, is a cultural hub—but it also has a lot of disparity,” said Rhea Mendiratta, MPP Class of 2026. “For example, when I was growing up and my family was driving someplace, we’d see all these glimmering lights in the malls. But at stoplights, there would be children knocking on car windows, begging for food or money.”

Seeing those extremes, she said, shaped her as a person. “I thought working in India’s social development sector would be the best way to address those disparities, but that career was not considered practical.”

That notion, Mendiratta said, was informed by her upbringing. “My grandparents immigrated from present-day Pakistan during Partition—when we gained independence from the British Empire. When they came to the India side of the border, they lost everything and had to start from scratch. As a result, financial stability and striving for a comfortable life was everything.”

To that end, Mendiratta came to the US, earning her BS in chemistry at Baldwin Wallace University in Ohio. “I had always enjoyed chemistry, and the program was very fulfilling—so much that I went into a chemistry PhD program at Washington University in St. Louis right after.” However, Mendiratta said, she realized she had been running away from what she really truly wanted to do—work in the social sector. “I quit the PhD program after six months and returned to India.”

Back home, Mendiratta landed on working in education. “My schooling experience in India was not a positive one, because modern Indian schooling is tailored to a very specific style of student—and that wasn’t me. Let’s just say I liked to ask a lot of questions,” she added with a laugh. “A child is signed up for 14 years of schooling without any input or options. They're meant to take one path—with no exits—no matter how the experience makes them feel. And that’s horrible.”

And then she saw an ad for the Fellowship Program at Teach for India. “I thought, I’ll just apply and see how it goes.”

During her time with Teach for India in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Mendiratta taught middle school math and science at a low-fee private school located right next to the city’s main dumping ground. “The major environmental and health hazard exacerbated the low literacy levels in the community. Yet, it was inspiring to be surrounded by fellow teachers and administrators trying to problem solve for something that really mattered.”

After her two-year term with Teach for India ended, Mendiratta began working for Mantra Social Services, a nonprofit that designs large-scale solutions to problems in India’s public education system. “As a Design and Impact Strategist, my focus was, how do you intervene in solving education challenges?  And that’s when I learned about intervention design, and realized it was my calling.”

Over time, Mendiratta recognized gaps in her program evaluation skills—a cornerstone for good intervention design. “Here I was, strategizing plans that affected 5.71 million students. I needed to be better equipped to step up to the task.”

Initially, Mendiratta explored education and data science programs and degrees. “Public policy wasn’t even on my radar. In my mind, policy was about making rules and regulations—and that was it. So when a friend told me about The University of Chicago Center in New Delhi and an MPP information session they were hosting, I reluctantly attended.”

Mendiratta said hearing Ranjan Daniels, the Senior Associate Dean at The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, talk about the quantitative focus of the Master of Public Policy degree, caught her attention. “And when he mentioned that many students go on to do intervention design after completing their degree, I knew the MPP would be my best pathway.”

As for what she’s looking forward to at Harris Public Policy, Mendiratta said, “Challenging myself to think beyond my experiences: to get fresh inspiration and renewed thinking. I’m excited to be surrounded by the vast mix of policy thinkers from so many different backgrounds.”