At just 14 years old, Ariana Chaudhary visited a rural clinic in Uganda. She witnessed something that would change her life forever: patients suffering due to a lack of access to medical specialists. Instead of walking away, she decided to act. Now 17 and a student at Health Careers High School in San Antonio, Ariana is the founder of ASK Access to Specialist Knowledge. This nonprofit organization connects frontline healthcare workers in underserved communities with volunteer medical specialists from around the world. In this episode of bigcitysmalltown, guest host Cory Ames speaks with Ariana about how she built ASK from a single WhatsApp message into a tech-enabled global network that has now facilitated over 35,000 consultations across Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and beyond.

Ariana Chaudhary's nonprofit connects under-resourced doctors abroad with consultations by American specialists, one email at a time.

Ariana Chaudhary has helped solve over 25,000 medical cases (2024) in Sub-Saharan Africa with her nonprofit, Access to Special Knowledge. A $10,000 grant will help her expand her mission.

Selected as one of the most influential leaders nationwide who inspire positive change and world betterment; recognized by NSHSS for transformative leadership, innovation, and community-centric goals.

The NSHSS Be More Grant program provides over $100,000 in funding to NSHSS members aspiring for world betterment. NSHSS co-founder Claes Nobel once said, "I believe that the human race can be fundamentally better than it is, and students like you will be the ones to change the world to make it what it can be. You are the most formidable proponents of change."

At just 14 years old, Ariana Chaudhary got the idea to create a nonprofit that connects health care workers with medical specialists across the world.

First-author publication on the effect of herbal medicine and usage patterns in the DRC. Vol. 13, Issue 3, Part A (2025)