Esha Maknojia selected as the Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine namesake’s first full scholarship recipient

Esha Maknojia wasn’t born in Texas, but she got here as fast as she could—at one year old, when her family moved from Atlanta to Houston so her father could expand his business in the city’s booming petroleum industry. 

Growing up as the only child of Pakistani immigrants initially unfamiliar with Texas brought challenges, but also instilled in Esha a desire to learn from every setback and a drive to take advantage of every opportunity that one of America’s most dynamic cities had to offer. 

“My attitude was, I can’t hate it if I haven’t tried it,” she said.  

At Katy’s Seven Lakes High School, she was a member of the National Honor Society and its science-focused subsidiary, as well as the student council. She also worked part-time as a finance manager for a convenience store. 

But the years she spent leading a faith-based youth group and volunteering at a nursing home are what confirmed her long-held desire to make a difference in the lives of others.  

“I soon realized how connected we all are as human beings,” she said. “Seeing the world through the eyes of both young people full of ideas and excitement about the future and older people with so much wisdom to share, enriched my life immensely.” 

Choosing Aggieland

Texas A&M was one of many options Esha and her parents considered for her college education. She had heard some good things about Aggieland, but visiting for the first time made her decision easy. 

“The campus was a breath of fresh air compared to places like the University of Texas and University of Houston that are much smaller and hemmed in by skyscrapers,” she said. “And everyone was so welcoming! I knew Texas A&M was where I was meant to be.” 

As a pre-med biology major, Esha embraced the can-do attitude of her fellow students and professors.  

Mahul Chakraborty, PhD, an assistant professor of biology, played an especially important role in shaping Esha’s academic growth and career aspirations. 

“Getting to work on research in his lab as an undergraduate—studying the phenotypic diversity and adaptation of fruit flies—was eye-opening,” she said, adding that this work helps researchers understand environmental changes more broadly because fruit flies reproduce very quickly and have genetic similarities to other organisms.  

Her studies kept her busy, but Esha found time for volleyball with friends—“I do have a competitive streak!” she said—and for balancing the structure of a premed curriculum with the free expression found through painting and pottery-making. 

“In art there no rules, and I enjoy letting loose and seeing the results,” she said. “It’s a great form of escape.” 

A life-changing summer

An online ad Esha spotted as a sophomore led her to try a “fun summer experience” as a volunteer with an emergency room in the world-renowned Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston. 

It was not what she expected. 

“Everything moved so fast!” she said. “And every case was unique because each patient and each situation was different.” 

She enjoyed seeing how the doctors approached diagnoses like puzzles and got to know each patient to identify the puzzle pieces. She also appreciated their willingness to share information and ideas with the volunteer interns.   

By the end of the summer, Esha was more determined than ever to help others by becoming a physician herself.  

The decision was not just pragmatic, however—it was intensely personal. 

“When I was very young, I was alone with my grandfather while my parents were at the grocery store, and I saw him grab his chest and collapse onto the floor,” she said. 

In a panic, she called her parents. But there was nothing they or the emergency responders could do. Her beloved grandfather had passed away instantly. 

“I felt so helpless,” she said. And she vowed to do whatever it took to alleviate suffering as a doctor. 

The gift of opportunity

Looking ahead, Esha knew the intense coursework and long hours to become a physician would be one thing, but the cost was another matter. 

“How to pay for it was always on my mind,” she said.  

That burden was lifted through a history-making scholarship: the first full-tuition support for a future Aggie doctor, funded by an endowment gift from Arlington-based entrepreneur Naresh K. Vashisht ’72. 

In 2024, Vashisht made the largest endowed gift ever to the Texas A&M College of Medicine.  The gift will eventually fund numerous full-tuition scholarships, opening the door for more deserving students.   

And Esha had no idea that a scholarship was in the works or that she was being considered. 

She simply was notified that it was a done deal. And once her excitement settled down, she realized that this extraordinary gift comes with what she considers an extraordinary responsibility. 

“I will forever be grateful for this vote of confidence,” she said. “And I am committed to doing my best to represent Mr. Vashisht and the college well and to learn as much as I can—to go to every lecture, every rotation, every outreach program that I possibly can.” 

Esha believes the attitude she adopted as a child—to be open to trying new things before judging them—helped her reach her life-long goal of medical school, and she is enthusiastic about adding medical school swag to her parents’ collection. 

 And did she ever try something she truly hated? 

“Well,” she said. “Let’s just say I’m not crazy about clams.”