Rhea Chandran graduated from Haverford College with a BA in history in 2023. She was born and raised in Geneva, Illinois, by immigrant parents from India. She attended Phillips Academy Andover where she discovered her passion for advocacy and humanities research. At Haverford, she was a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow where she was supported by the Mellon Foundation to conduct independent research and prepare for graduate studies. She also served as the co-chair of the Honor Council; as a student representative on a faculty committee on student academic standing; and as a co-organizer of the first-year orientation program. She has worked for the House Committee on Homeland Security; for the Office of Congresswoman Lauren Underwood; for BallotReady; and for the American Business Immigration Coalition.
Rhea’s Fulbright-Nehru project is studying the historical and sociological impacts on women who exit commercial sex work in India. She is conducting archive-based historical analysis to trace the impacts of modern India’s laws governing prostitution. Her historical research is informing her sociological study which focuses on documenting casework and collecting interview data from these women to discern the best pathways for rehabilitation. Rhea’s research is seeking to answer integral questions related to how the history of criminalization of prostitution affects sex workers today.