AUNUA Youth Ambassador Blog Series
From the Biggest Introvert to Times Square.
“Who would have thought that 9-year-old Palakh, who was the biggest introvert, would one day feature on Times Square?”
At nine years old, Palakh Khanna was the biggest introvert in the room.
She was the kind of child who shrank from attention, who found social situations overwhelming, who certainly could not have imagined standing on a stage in front of thousands of people.
Today, that story looks very different.
Palakh has delivered more than 100 talks, spoken at four TEDx events, appeared on a billboard in Times Square, New York, and built an organisation around the power of honest conversation.
Learning to step into uncomfortable spaces
The journey from shy nine-year-old to recognised youth changemaker was not a straight line.
It was built through years of deliberately stepping into uncomfortable spaces, choosing to speak when it felt easier to stay silent, and deciding that the issues young people were quietly struggling with deserved to be talked about loudly and without shame.
Sometimes finding your voice begins by choosing to use it when staying silent would be easier.
Breaking the ice
That conviction became the foundation of Break The Ice.
Palakh built the organisation to create open, honest, and stigma-free conversations for and with young people about the things that matter most and are most often ignored.
Rather than treating difficult conversations as something young people should avoid, Break The Ice creates spaces where they can ask questions, speak openly, learn, and contribute.
Creating spaces for young people to engage openly with topics including menstrual health, sexual health, community engagement and social impact.
From Delhi to global platforms
Palakh's impact has been recognised on some of the world's most prestigious platforms.
She has been named among Asia's 100 Women Power Leaders and featured in UN Women's coffee-table book celebrating 75 women leaders across India.
She has also been recognised in BusinessWorld Wellbeing's 30 Under 30.
In 2025, she was among just eight participants selected from India for the BRICS International School in Moscow.
She also represented youth voices at the Second World Summit for Social Development 2025 in Doha.
In 2024, she was named one of the Top 25 Unstoppable Creators by Unstop.
More than stages and awards
But Palakh's work extends beyond stages, recognition and awards.
Through Break The Ice, she has partnered with organisations to create hands-on changemaker programmes for young people.
These programmes cover menstrual health, sexual health, community engagement and social impact, giving young people real field experience and a platform to contribute to conversations that society too often avoids.
The goal is not simply to give young people a voice. It is to create spaces where that voice is actually heard.
The strength in being quiet
Palakh Khanna's story is a reminder that introversion is never a limitation.
It can be the very thing that makes you listen more carefully, feel more deeply, and speak more truthfully when the moment comes.
The nine-year-old who once shrank from attention did not need to become someone else.
She learned how to turn what was already inside her into strength.
AUNUA Youth Ambassador
At AUNUA, we are proud to have Palakh Khanna as one of our Youth Ambassadors and inspired by a young woman who turned her quietest self into her greatest strength.
From the biggest introvert in the room to Times Square. Palakh's story shows that finding your voice does not mean changing who you are.