Music & Mental Health as a Catalyst for Change

Sean Nesamoney is an incoming freshman at Stanford University and a recent graduate of Menlo School in Atherton, California. He is the Founder and Board Chair (former Executive Director) of Voices for Hope, a student-led non-profit that organized two annual benefit concerts to raise awareness and funds for youth mental health resources post-pandemic. Sean and his team raised $25,000 for the Children’s Health Council at their inaugural event.

Beyond his work with Voices for Hope, Sean is an interdisciplinary civic leader who is passionate about harnessing the power of technology and music to innovate new frontiers in human cognitive health. He was named a 2023 Regeneron STS Scholar for his research paper titled “Neurocognitive Dysfunction in Children and Adolescents with Mental Illness.” He is also a published author in the International Journal of High School Research.

Sean is also a co-founder of The ABCs of Our World, a children’s book non-profit that aims to educate youth about important global topics through writing and illustration. He was named a 2023 Coca-Cola Scholar for his various public service and civic engagement involvements throughout the past years.

Sean hopes to continue innovating at the intersection of cognitive science, technology, and storytelling to improve healthcare accessibility and craft novel approaches to the most pressing issues. In college, Sean plans to study Computer Science and pursue a minor in Poetry.