This Teen Activist From Texas is Fighting to Make Period Products Free

In the hallways of her San Antonio high school, Dhiya noticed something troubling: students were either bringing their own period products or going without. There were no free supplies on campus—and conversations around menstruation always felt awkward and taboo.

That’s when Dhiya decided to take action.

Alongside a few friends, she co-founded Cycles For Change, a student-led nonprofit focused on fighting period poverty, breaking menstrual stigma, and installing free product dispensers in schools.

We sat down with Dhiya to learn more about her journey—from building community support to landing a feature on local news—and what advice she has for other high schoolers looking to launch something meaningful.

#1: Give us an overview of Cycles For Change.

Dhiya: Cycles For Change is all about making period products accessible for everyone who needs them. We knew people at my school who were facing accessibility issues for pads. So we were inspired to break that gap for those who need these items, but can’t afford it.

What we’ve started doing is installing free dispensers in schools and running educational campaigns.

Another initiative we’ve started is regular fundraising. So far, we’ve raised over $2000 to support our cause.

Finally, we’ve also started an ambassador network across different schools. We want more people to know what we’re fighting for.

#2: Why is period poverty a topic you’re so passionate about?

Dhiya: It’s something so real. It’s happening right here—in our schools, in our communities. 

Periods are still treated as awkward or taboo. That’s why we also recently launched our podcast—to create space for open, honest conversations and show students they’re not alone.

#3: Your team has launched & installed product dispensers within schools. How did you do that?

Dhiya: It was one of the biggest problems we had to face.

“How would we do this? Would we have to build the dispensers ourselves?”

We were actually very fortunate to have already received some attention to our organization. Recently, our story was put on the news in San Antonio.

So now, if any school wants to install dispensers, they can connect with us and we can set up Egal Pad dispensers.

#4: Why did you choose to install free product dispensers instead of other ways to address this issue?

Dhiya: We saw period products as equal to any other hygiene products, like soap or toilet paper.

#5: Launching an initiative like this at your age is very impressive. What’s the hardest part about being an ambitious high school student?

Dhiya: It’s really hard to prove yourself to people who are watching. There’s been typically two types of scenarios I’ve seen. Most people either underestimate you because you are a high school, or they think that you should have everything together already.

I don’t think it has to be these two extremes. There’s a huge middle area in-between. The more we celebrate the progress kids are making on the way to their goals, the more confident students can feel about their journeys.

#6: Advice for other high school students who want to launch something similar to “Cycles For Change?”

Dhiya: It just takes one step. Even if you’re scared, take one step - you won’t know where it’ll take you. That’s how it happened for Cycles For Change. By just sharing our story, we were able to get support to install dispensers in our school, and it snowballed into more and more impact.

Make that Instagram post. Apply for that one grant. And it’ll grow from there.

Stay Connected

Cycles For Change: https://cyclesforchange.wixsite.com/cycles-for-change