Hemanth Kumar is a graduate of JNTUK, where he studied civil engineering, and is originally from Andhra Pradesh. Hemanth grew up in a single-parent household, where his father had to provide for both him and his brother. In university, he saw the stress that his studies were putting on his family and was turned to the Next Step Foundation by his friends. With the relief provided by the scholarship Hemanth was able to turn his focus to becoming a good civil engineer who can build “wonderful and safe structures”.

Currently, Hemanth is preparing for his IES and spending time in his hometown. He expressed how NSF has helped make him the person he is today and has inspired him to continue aiming high in the future.