Sanya Pai is a student at Charterhouse, where she studies Mathematics, Physics, and Economics. Her academic interests sit at the intersection of economics, urban planning, and sustainability — specifically, in how cities distribute access to public goods, and why that distribution so rarely follows need.

That question runs through her work outside the classroom. She interned at Janaagraha, a Bengaluru-based organisation working on urban governance and citizen participation, where she saw how the quality of civic institutions determines what a city's residents can actually claim from it. She has since completed a research project, 'Mapping Access to Urban Green Infrastructure in Bengaluru,' examining how access to parks and green space is stratified across the city and what that means for environmental and health equity. She also attended the Yale Young Global Scholars programme in 2026. 

Outside of academics, Sanya is an active member of the SAC International Committee and serves as Head of House at school, experiences that have honed her leadership and organisational skills. She is also passionate about sports and music, which have given her a sense of discipline and teamwork. These experiences led her to take the initiative to start GYAN (the Global Youth Action Network) — a platform aimed at increasing accessibility to global volunteering opportunities and meaningful cultural exchange between students from different backgrounds.