It started with a phone call from my aunt in India.

She wasn’t calling for advice. She just needed someone to talk to—someone who wouldn’t rush her, someone who’d sit in silence and just listen. Her voice was heavy with something I couldn’t name at the time. But now, after years of working in mental health spaces, volunteering in hospitals, and building a startup centered on accessible therapy, I recognize what I heard in her voice:

Isolation. Shame. Fear.

And the quiet hope that someone might understand.

That was the moment I realized medicine couldn’t just be about diagnoses and treatments. It had to be about people. And it had to start with listening.

Since that moment, I’ve built my journey around this idea—that health care has to meet people where they are, not where the system expects them to be. I’ve founded a mental health tech startup, led campus wellness coaching programs, and mentored students through SCET at UC Berkeley, helping them merge science with empathy.

But what I’ve learned is that even innovation can fall short when it’s disconnected from lived experience. Apps can’t replace eye contact. AI can’t replicate cultural understanding. What we build must be rooted in what we feel.

That’s why I coach students in mindfulness. Why I’ve interviewed health care workers for my podcast. Why I chose public health as my academic minor. And why I want to become a doctor—not just to treat illness, but to help redesign the culture that surrounds it.

We are taught to act, to fix, to treat. But rarely are we taught to pause.

When I reflect on my aunt’s voice that day, I wonder how many patients are carrying similar weight. I wonder how many doctors are, too. I think about burnout, disconnection, and the silent struggles I’ve seen—even in brilliant researchers and compassionate clinicians.

We need to make space for those stories. We need to teach future doctors how to ask, “How are you, really?”—and to mean it.

As a Gen Z future physician, I don’t see reflection and innovation as opposites. I believe the next generation of doctors will code, treat, listen, and advocate. We’ll know how to design systems and sit beside someone in silence.

Because medicine isn’t just about what we know. It’s about who we choose to be when someone is hurting.

And I’ve never forgotten what it means to be the person on the other end of that phone.

Vaishali Jha is a passionate entrepreneur, AI enthusiast, and wellness advocate dedicated to transforming mental health care through innovative, human-centered technology. As the founder of Glomood AI, she leverages artificial intelligence to deliver personalized mental health solutions for young adults, improving accessibility and emotional well-being. Her commitment to equity in health care also led her to establish Caregena, a health equity organization that integrates storytelling, technology, and public health research to address care disparities in underrepresented communities.

Currently a freshman at the University of California, Berkeley, Vaishali is majoring in nutrition and metabolic biology with a minor in global public health. She is deeply invested in blending academic inquiry with entrepreneurial impact, guided by the belief that technology, compassion, and leadership can meaningfully reshape the future of health care.

Vaishali brings a diverse range of experiences to her work. She has served as a medical assistant in both cardiology and OB/GYN clinics, providing her with strong clinical insight. She is also a certified Art of Living Foundation wellness coach and an active mentor within the Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (SCET), where she helps emerging innovators refine their ideas. Through her involvement in projects like Buildspace and the SCET Innovators in Residence program, she continues to explore the intersections of research, innovation, and health.

Her scientific contributions include research on dementia and breast cancer, with presentations at several academic symposia. With a vision rooted in inclusivity and innovation, Vaishali strives to advance public health, mental wellness, and AI-powered solutions that prioritize empathy and equity.