This BRI Student Fellow Values Opportunity for Diverse Perspectives

Although Eshaam Bhattad's guidance counselor introduced him to the Bill of Rights Institute and its Student Fellowship program, he didn’t officially apply until he was engaged in a favorite activity among teens—scrolling through Instagram.

“I was swiping through my friends' stories when an advertisement for it popped up across my screen between stories, and almost immediately, I was eager to learn more,” he said.

Bhattad participated in BRI’s 2023 Student Fellowship program and is returning this year. Interacting with other Student Fellows and BRI staff were some of Bhattad’s favorite memories from last year’s program.

“The second aspect, which shouldn’t be understated, is the concepts,” Bhattad said of his Student Fellowship. “I find that right now, the dichotomy of our education system is both structured in its practice but limiting in the way it allows students to freely and creatively think through ideas.”

“But at the Bill of Rights Institute, our cohorts center so much more around the exploration of topics, rather than cookie-cutter definitions and routine memorization practices that many of us feel engrained to, [so] that the conversations feel free-flowing and exciting,” Bhattad said.

Throughout his nearly two years in the Student Fellowship program, Bhattad met with countless people across the political spectrum and heard various perspectives on various issues.

“But instead of using that as an outlet to fuel the divide or spew hateful rhetoric as I feel so often happens right now, I use it as an opportunity to find a nuanced middle ground of a potential solution that could make all parties happy – or at least not mad,” he said.

Bhattad is a junior at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Ill., and plans to study ethnic studies, government, public policy, computer science, or engineering in college.

For Bhattad, civics education represents the ability to understand the society Americans live in and the power and responsibilities citizens have.

“In an era rampant with hyper-partisanship and [a] disastrous divide, the ability to understand the power you have as a voter, a citizen, or a person, and what responsibilities you have in ensuring the continuation of democracy is what civic education should always aim to achieve.”