Advocacy through Art: Franke Honors Senior Publishes Children’s Book with Funding from an Exploratory Mini Grant

Anusha Sharma is turning research, personal experience, and creativity into advocacy through her children’s book The Colors of My Journey.

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A senior at the W.A. Franke Honors College, Sharma is majoring in Global Studies with a minor in Psychology, as well as an additional minor in South Asian Studies that she created to reflect her unique cultural roots and academic goals. 

Sharma’s book, The Colors of My Journey, follows the story of an Indian immigrant child navigating identity, belonging, and self-expression while growing up in the United States. Through everyday moments, Sharma’s book explores themes of diaspora, cultural pride, religion, intercultural competence, and confidence—particularly within educational spaces. 

As the child of immigrant parents, this project has been deeply personal for Sharma. Growing up, she recalls feeling the tension between honoring her South Asian identity and fitting into predominantly Western environments.  

“I rarely saw children’s books that reflected my experiences,” Sharma said. “This book became a way to give my younger self and other children like me the representation I was missing.” 

Grounded in interdisciplinary research, Sharma’s book draws inspiration from comic-style and identity-focused narratives. Part of her research process involved conducting a literature review on children’s books while also examining gaps in representation of the Hindu diaspora in U.S. education. She explored topics such as culture shock, child development, intercultural competence, and religious education which helped ensure her story was both engaging and academically informed.  

Balancing research with storytelling proved to be one of the project’s biggest challenges, along with navigating funding, illustration, formatting, and publishing decisions. 

Sharma says the most rewarding part, however, has been seeing how strongly others have connected with the story.  

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“Students, faculty, and community members have shared how deeply they see themselves reflected in [The Colors of My Journey],” she said. 

Sharma’s project was funded by an Exploratory Mini Grant from the W.A. Franke Honors College, which supported her research and creative process. Sharma credits her mentor, Dr. Bhakti Mamtora, for guidance throughout her research journey. 

"Anusha's work represents so much of what we value here at the W.A. Franke Honors College," said Franke Dean John Pollard. "Her project will surely inspire future students to connect their personal experiences with creativity and research." 

As she prepares for graduation this spring, Sharma has plans to attend law school with a focus on immigration law, and hopes to pursue a master’s degree along the way. Her long-term goal is to work at the intersection of law, education, and advocacy to uplift immigrant and marginalized communities. 

Sharma’s biggest takeaway from this research project has been the impact of storytelling. 

“It’s a powerful form of advocacy,” she said. “This project represents what can happen when research, personal narrative, and creative expression come together. I’m incredibly grateful to the Franke Honors College for creating space where projects like this can exist and thrive.”