(September 14, 2025) When New York State Senator Shelley Mayer stepped up to the microphone at a student-led fundraiser in June, her words, stressing “the need for funding and support for schools which lack resources for their STEM programs,” resonated deeply with the audience, which went on to donate $10,000 to the cause. For Armita Ahmed, the high school senior who organized the event, the moment was a powerful affirmation of her own belief that, as she tells Global Indian, “if you have a vision, you can create change.”
By the end of the evening, Mayer had not only inspired the crowd but made a personal donation as part of the total raised.
Armita with New York State Senator Shelley Mayer at Future Leaders in Physics’s STEM fundraiser luncheon
From a spark of curiosity to a global network
Armita’s passion for physics began at the end of her freshman year and deepened when, as a sophomore, she conducted formal research in quantum computing with a mentor at the Flatiron Institute in New York City. That experience opened her eyes to two key problems: “a lack of community for high school students passionate about physics outside of physics olympiad competitions, and a lack of awareness and resources that prevented many students from adequately preparing for those competitions.” Determined to bridge that gap, she founded Future Leaders in Physics (FLP) at the start of her junior year. In just one year, the society has grown to more than 100 members across over 10 international chapters and attracted a following of more than 1,000 on Instagram.
Chapters across continents
The organization’s international reach came about organically. “For the most part, I just posted a chapter creation sign-up form on the organization’s Instagram and, given our international follower-base, many students around the world were eager to bring Future Leaders in Physics to their own communities,” Armita explains. Today, FLP has chapters in Saudi Arabia, India, Brazil, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and Canada, alongside U.S. chapters in California’s South Bay and Irvine, Minnesota, Utah, the Bronx High School of Science, and New York City, where it all began. “Essentially, chapter leaders are independent,” she says, a structure that lets students form their own tight-knit physics communities, and overcome language or cultural barriers.
Armita with Future Leaders in Physics’s New York chapter volunteers (Iris Zhu and Ian Rozens) at the STEM Career Expo 2025 at the New York Hall of Science
Programs that reach beyond the classroom
FLP’s influence shows in its inventive programming. “We inform our followers about the countless, yet relatively unknown, opportunities available to high school students in physics,” Armita notes. The group has hosted a STEM Reels contest with a year-long Brilliant.org subscription as the prize, a journal article competition that offers feedback on professional analyses, and the ongoing “Month of Quantum” initiative featuring a quantum infographics contest and a September webinar on quantum physics in industry. The tutoring program now includes 22 student tutors, and at the New York Hall of Science STEM Career Expo, FLP members spoke with more than 500 local high school students and professionals about their initiative.
Fundraising with purpose
The June fundraiser that drew Senator Mayer raised $10,000, supporting FLP’s student initiatives and providing funds for STEM programs in under-resourced New York City schools. “She really put into perspective for the attendees the importance of the charitable initiative of supporting the STEM programs at under-resourced high schools,” Armita says, adding that the senator’s personal donation signified the importance of the mission.
Balancing leadership and ambition
Running a fast-growing international organization while excelling in school has been a lesson in perseverance. “At first, I struggled to manage my time effectively, often going through nights with little sleep,” Armita admits. Over time, she learned to trust her team and delegate tasks. Now her focus is on preparing FLP’s leadership for the future. She plans to expand FLP into “all major high schools in the US and eventually internationally,” and to collaborate with physics-related companies such as Quantum, computing firms and physics lab kit makers.
Looking toward a quantum future
Born in New York to a father from Chennai, India, and a mother from Iran, Armita balances her initiative with quantum computing research, horseback riding, squash, and helping run her school’s Muslim Club. She plans to major in physics in college and pursue a career in quantum computing, “either as a consultant or as a researcher.”
Armita Ahmed
In less than a year, Armita Ahmed has shown what’s possible when youthful passion meets determination. From a late-blooming interest in physics to founding an international honors society, she embodies her own conviction that “if you have a vision, you can create change,” proving that one student’s dream can inspire a community of young enthusiasts across nations.
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