How can a high schooler attack problems larger than himself? From helping hundreds of families through the nonprofit organization Food4Philly to empowering STEM education with ProjectCircuit, Sixth Former Gill has been working hard to make an impact larger than himself.
Most of Gill’s classmates know him for being the Food4Philly president, Model-UN captain, and ProjectCircuit executive leader. But Gill has been quietly working on a project that will leave a lasting impact far beyond the school’s campus.
“I’ve been working with a local state senator to help draft and write proposals for them. It’s something that a lot of people don’t think that I do or don’t see me do, mainly because it’s quiet, but it’s something I’m passionate about,” Gill said. “I recently was working on a project dealing with housing repair loans, working on an equitable loan policy that would be able to help as many families as possible in Delaware County. This allows them to repair their houses immediately and be able to pay it off over time, instead of waiting.”
The county’s housing-repair-loan crisis has left many low-income families unable to afford urgent fixes, forcing them to live with unsafe conditions.
“A lot of people who are in impoverished areas are unable to pay for important housing repairs. If these repairs are not done, they could cause health issues,”
Gill said. “So, along with the county state senator, we came up with a proposal that would come up with a loan system that would attack that problem. The current proposal is actually being pushed through legislation. For me, it’s the coolest project I’ve done yet because instead of me just making a proposal and it going nowhere, it’s actually going to help people and make an impact on their lives.”
While Gill may be changing the world now, he wasn’t always an outgoing, well-spoken, and sociable individual. He arrived as a shy 7th grader.
“If I stayed at my old school, I would have been more closed minded and not explored as much stuff, but at Haverford, I felt more inclined to go out of my comfort zone and I’ve really tried a lot of different things, and through trying a bunch of different things, I ended up finding the stuff that I was really passionate about.”
Ranvir Gill ’26
“I came as a super-introverted guy. I hated talking to people, zero public speaking, just like super, super shy. Kind of the definition of, like, a ‘book nerd,’ and I think since then, throughout the years, I’ve kind of grown into myself a little bit.
I’ve become more comfortable talking in front of people. I now like talking in front of crowds,” Gill said.
Gill didn’t know where he belonged at Haverford, and didn’t know what his strengths or interests were.
“I figured out what my strengths were pretty late in high school.
It’s pretty common, but a lot of my friends figured out what they were good at very fast and specialized in those things,” Gill said. “For me, it took a lot of trial and error to figure out what I liked.”
For Gill, Haverford encouraged an open mind.
“If I stayed at my old school, I would have been more closed minded and not explored as much stuff, but at Haverford, I felt more inclined to go out of my comfort zone and I’ve really tried a lot of different things, and through trying a bunch of different things, I ended up finding the stuff that I was really passionate about,” Gill said. “One of my favorite activities is Model UN, but I take it pretty seriously just because I like it. I like debating policy issues and international crises, and that’s something that I find fun.”
Model UN is an activity in which students portray the United Nations‘ attempt to form legislation for issues of conflict. Through such activities, Gill has made new friends, which he believes are more important than achievements.
“I value the connections that I’ve built, the friends that I’ve made, and the underclassmen I’ve impacted; to me, that stuff is gonna stay a lot longer than any award that I’ve won,” Gill said. “When I was an underclassman, a lot of upperclassmen reached out to me and mentored me, like Milan Varma [’25].
I was super close to Milan, and I try a lot to reach out to underclassmen as well and help others the way he helped me.”
A core tenet in Model UN is drafting policies, one of Gill’s passions. Policy-making is the process by which institutions or leaders turn ideas into rules or programs that impact everyday life. Whether it be participating in Model UN or working on real projects that make a difference in people’s lives, Gill enjoys being involved with his passion.
Regarding policy, Gill believes that most problems can be approached in two different ways.
“There’s a technical solution, which is doing research or fighting the problem head-on, which is what we do at Food for Philly and Project Circuit, with food and equity and STEM education,” Gill said. “The other solution is policy-based solutions, especially because a lot of these problems about food scarcity come from poor policy decisions and problems in today’s legislature and government.”
Gill emphasizes that tackling systemic issues also means understanding how flexible policymaking can be.
“I think that something that I at least have noticed in the past year or so, where I’ve been working with a lot of legislators, is that there are so many different ways to create policy,” he said. “There are so many different routes that you can take when you’re doing policy.”
Gill also applied his policy philosophy during his time at Food4Philly. He realized how big a problem food insecurity was in Philadelphia; its problems were more than just food. At its core, policy was a major issue.
“[At Food4Philly] we have 500 families, which is really substantial and super interesting because to me, when you look at Philadelphia, you don’t think hunger is as clear a problem as it is,” Gill said.
“Find your passion. Explore as many things as you can, and when you do find your passion, try as many different things as you can in that specific field and make as big of an impact as possible.”
Ranvir Gill ’26
That experience pushed Gill to look deeper into the roots of food insecurity. It wasn’t just about handing out meals, but about understanding the broader systems and decisions that created the crisis in the first place.
“I realized how much bigger the problem was when I met this man named Harry Heyman. He works with a think tank in Philadelphia. And I was talking to him about food inequity, and he was telling me that the problem isn’t just food scarcity. Food isn’t just a main problem for him. It’s a symptom,” he said.
That perspective reshaped how Gill thought about his own work. Hunger, he realized, doesn’t exist in isolation but connects to a web of barriers that families face every day.
“Food scarcity is often a result of other systemic issues like health inaccessibility and economic immobility,” Gill said. “By running a food-based organization, I work to fix the problem by alleviating a symptom of larger inequalities like food scarcity, as it’s much easier to help take some pressure off families temporarily, as they battle other problems.”
Gill’s journey to fight insecurities in Philadelphia and potentially around the world will not stop once he graduates.
“I’ll stay a part of the organization, acting as more of an advisory member, helping the new co-presidents lead the organization. Our plans [for now] are to diversify our impact from our usual Hunting Park events,” he said. “This means finding new partners and creating new opportunities for our volunteers.”
Gill expressed interest in a career in the healthcare sector.
“After high school, I want to major in healthcare management, because the healthcare system itself is problematic right now. And I think the only solution for the health care system is through policy-based solutions,” Gill said.
Gill’s story serves to show that with passion and interest, everyone can make an impact larger than themselves.
Gill advises others to do the same.
“Find your passion. Explore as many things as you can,” Gill said. “And when you do find your passion, try as many different things as you can in that specific field and make as big of an impact as possible.”
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