Shiva Rajbhandari ’27
Shiva Rajbhandari ’27 of Boise, Idaho, has been named a Truman Scholar in recognition of his exceptional leadership and dedication to a career in public service. The public policy and sociology double major received the honor alongside Faith Austin (UNC–Chapel Hill ’27), marking the first time since 2004 that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has had two Truman Scholars in the same year.
Growing up in Idaho amid annual wildfires and following local legislation informed Shiva’s passion for climate justice and democratic governance. His Nepali heritage, he says, has led him to “recognize the unique ability and obligation Americans have to address pressing global challenges and to support the liberation of all people.”
“I hope to spend my career leveraging the power of government to secure a livable future and provide equal opportunity for future generations in the United States and across the world,” Shiva said.
Throughout his academic and professional life, Shiva has worked to bridge policy research, community organizing, and systems-level change at the intersection of education and climate justice.
His involvement in K–12 climate action dates to junior high school, when he began working with the Sunrise Movement’s Green New Deal for Schools campaign. He went on to spend his Professional Experience in Washington, D.C., developing climate policy for school systems nationwide through the Aspen Institute’s This Is Planet Ed initiative. Before enrolling at Carolina, he was elected to the Boise School Board, becoming the first high school student to serve in that capacity.
Shiva’s undergraduate work includes both policy research and applied leadership. Through the Morehead-Cain Program’s Lovelace Fund for Discovery, Shiva designed and led multiple independent projects during the summer of 2025 covering public finance, political history, and outdoor education.
At Carolina, he has led efforts to charter a student-run credit union. He organized a delegation of nine UNC–Chapel Hill students to visit the Georgetown University Alumni and Student Federal Credit Union and the National Credit Union Administration, an experience he says crystallized both his understanding of the initiative’s mission and his own sense of responsibility as a leader.
“It’s something I never anticipated working on in college, and it’s already changed how I think about leadership and public service,” Shiva said. “I’ve been incredibly blessed by the many ways Carolina and Morehead-Cain have challenged me, expanded my worldview, and grown my commitment to advancing the public good.”
The Carolina CU Initiative is set to submit its charter application at the end of April and plans to open a not-for-profit financial institution serving students in August 2026.
Shiva also conducted comparative research on resistance movements against late-twentieth-century authoritarian regimes, traveling to Montevideo, Uruguay; Lima, Peru; and Mexico City, Mexico. The project included interviews with sixteen experts and visits to five museums. That research now forms the basis of a Carolina Student Training and Research (C-START) course he developed, Resistance to Authoritarianism, which he began teaching this past spring.
“Beyond any one fact I learned, the experience made me realize how real and imminent authoritarianism can be,” he said. “That lived understanding will shape my future in public service for the rest of my life.”
During a semester abroad in Santiago, Chile, Shiva also completed a backcountry skiing and avalanche safety course in Parque Nacional Conguillío, an experience he says opened new possibilities for exploration and connection.
His selection as a Udall Scholar in 2025 reflected his longstanding commitment to environmental and civic leadership. He was named alongside Mackenzie Cullinan (UNC–Chapel Hill ’26), the first time since 2000 that Carolina had two Udall Scholars in the same year.
Shiva is an Agora Fellow, an Andrews Fellow in Environmental Policy, a Carolina Diplomacy Fellow, and a Buckley Public Service Scholar. He is currently pursuing a graduate certificate in Innovation for the Public Good through Innovate Carolina as part of the University’s Accelerated Master of Public Policy program.
He credited the mentors and peers he has found through Morehead-Cain and Carolina with helping him earn the Truman Scholarship.
“As a Truman Scholar, I’m excited to continue to be challenged and inspired by some of the nation’s most promising current and future civil servants.”
