Non-Trivial's origins stem from my own journey. I spent 7 years preparing to be a doctor before I came to believe that I could have more impact outside of treating patients. This insight led me to co-found a non-profit that has raised over $10 million for global health charities, and to advise hundreds of top university graduates on impactful careers at 80,000 Hours.
Non-Trivial emerged from this experience, founded on my belief that you don't need to wait to start changing the world. Young people–especially if they're talented and work hard–can make a difference.
Since our first fellowship in December 2022, we've received over 35,000 applications, making our community of 300+ fellows one of the most selective communities for teenagers globally.
I got my first taste discussing the world’s problems from debating, where I became German champion.
Since then, I’ve gone from advocating for the rights of farmed animals to giving out multi-million-dollar grants to research on risks from advanced artificial intelligence and attempting to predict the future as a Superforecaster.
The common thread between all of these stops on my career path is my commitment to wanting to do the most good possible. Looking back, I wish I had been able to participate in a program like Non-Trivial in high school. It would have given me the courage to tackle global problems even earlier – rather than thinking that the adults have it all covered. (We don’t.)
When a career counsellor once asked which of the world’s “fires” I wanted to put out, I replied that I wanted to focus on firefighting instead. This led me to a PhD in Philosophy from Brown University, where I studied how we reason about what matters and what to do.
In my teaching roles at Carleton University and Brown, I witnessed firsthand the tremendous potential of young people to impact the world when they focus on tackling important problems.
At Non-Trivial, I want to equip talented and motivated individuals with the tools and connections for their own firefighting journeys.
For the last seven years I’ve designed web and mobile products at big tech companies and early-stage startups. I want to do the most good I can with my work and before I started designing at impact-focused organisations I donated parts of my salary to effective charities.
I’m largely self-taught, fuelled by a love for learning and understanding how things work. I believe the best solutions emerge from a cycle of experiment, curiosity, and humility. I keep coming back to this quote from Richard Feynman: “It doesn’t matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn’t matter how smart you are. If it doesn’t agree with experiment, it’s wrong.”
Facilitators are alumni who've undergone rigorous selection and coaching training. They guide you through the program and offer regular feedback - a highly-rated feature by fellows.
University of Oxford ‘27
I’ve always loved biology, and I’m currently interning in a neuroscience lab researching the mechanical basis of memory. I did my non trivial project on Biosecurity, and also did a few other fun projects like writing a hypothesis paper about octopus, cognition and RNA editing. I’m interested in Zen Buddhism and how everyone can live happier lives.
Imperial College London '26
My biggest passion lies in economic modeling. I have 10+ years of experience in programming, including machine vision and game development. In my free time my favorite things to do are to play the guitar and read historical fiction.
University of Oxford ‘28
During high school I did lots of maths and programming competitions and won some medals. I'm still part of the community and quite enjoy it. I am part of a software engineering startup working on applied machine learning projects like a cattle monitoring system recently funded and supported by the EU.
UT Austin '27
I've been in love with computers ever since I was shown scratch at 10 years old. I'm interested now in AI and spend most of my time in a colab notebook. I enjoy reading and writing about ideas around advanced artificial intelligence.
University of Cambridge ‘28
Hi, I’m Grace! I’m going to be studying engineering later this year at uni in the UK. Recently I took a biosecurity course, inspiring me to develop a SIR model in Python. It allowed analysis of disease spread in a population based on various parameters, winning 2nd place in the project track. My Non-Trivial project was on genetically engineered fungi as a resilient food in low-light disasters.
University of Science and Technology Hanoi '26
I’ve played around with AI models since 2021 and have been fascinated by their rapid development. Concerned about risks from more capable models, I’ve done some research on LLM safety benchmarking and am leading an AI safety student group at my university. Other than that, I enjoy reading stuff like SCP antimemetics and watching long video essays.
University of Cambridge ‘26
I love playing around with all things computers, cyber, and tech, and nothing satisfies me more than solving a tough maths question. I am working with founders this summer to build defensive technologies against potential threats, in particular those posed by AI. My Non-Trivial project was on antimicrobial resistance, and I cannot wait to see how these fields evolve over the coming years.
Gap Year
I love community building and founded three communities focused on global issues, speaking at UN Global Goals Week 2023 and TEDx. I work for one of the largest online education companies, Crimson Education, as a Community Moderator while growing my own volunteering startup, Talpact. Also, I love dance and have been a four-time National Champion and a two-time World Champion in Dance.
Yale University '27
Hi! I'm Lofty, interested in systems, science and symbols. I'm also really passionate about physics & chemistry so I've spent a lot of time in libraries and labs, and also at competitions (made my country's IPhO team twice). I love patterns so I keep a journal of weird equations and quirky reactions & molecules. Recently, I began collecting palindromes too!
Brown University '27
I’m a multidisciplinary student with broad interests across the intersections of the sciences, tech and society - primarily focusing on policy work and finding ways to make better decisions. Lately I’ve been enjoying forecasting and recently came 5th out of 500+ undergrads in a $25,000 forecasting contest. When I’m not reading or writing you can find me outside walking along some river.
University of Bologna ‘27
Hi, I'm Nicholas. I am interested in several fields including (but not limited to) mathematics, physics, and philosophy. In particular, I've spent more time recently thinking about ethics and did my Non-Trivial project on extraterrestrial life and space ethics. Outside of academics, I am deeply involved in choirs and enjoy choral music and music composition. I am excited to learn more about you!
University of Oxford ‘27
I was in the October-December 2023 cohort, partnering with another Fellow on a project considering extraterrestrial life and space ethics. I dabble in quite a few interest areas, from watching Maths lectures to being a designated "expert" on an Architectural History forum. I'm currently trying my hardest to return to reading and diarizing in a physical, rather than digital, capacity.
Stanford University ‘27
In a year, I’ve gone from a generalist debater to a specialist in global politics and human health, taking home first place at the national bioethics bowl with Stanford’s team. My love for policy led me to write my proposal on legislation for pandemic prevention, and I currently research climate policy at SERI. In my free time, I love watching video essays and trying new matcha recipes.
Royal College of Surgeons
My interest in biosecurity and global health stems from my desire to improve the safety and quality of life of people, especially in underserved communities. I’ve worked on biosec research at Cambridge, global surgery research at my university, and attended a Biological Weapons Convention meeting in Geneva. In a past life, I’ve done olympiads, started a non-profit, and attended rationality camps.
University of Bristol '28
I've always loved STEM and Philosophy. I've led BlueDot Impact's alignment course, lectured on ethics and the future at Oxford, and was a Non-Trivial winner. As a previous facilitator, I'm excited to use my passion for impact-focused, person-centred facilitation again!
University of Oxford ‘27
I am fascinated by philosophy, with a particular interest in ethics and philosophy of mind. I’m currently working on creating LLM-based tools for philosophy and exploring communication systems and negotiation strategies within multi-agent reinforcement learning simulations.
Lexington High School '25
I've been interested in all things computing related for as long as I can remember, from cybersecurity (I run the Lexington Informatics Tournament), AI, and hackathons (won a Raspberry Pi at one recently). Beyond that, I love art, pokemon, and math. I did Non-Trivial back in 2023 and I've been around rationality camps for a while now (SPARC '22 and more). Let's shape the future well, we live in it.
Stanford University ‘27
During COVID, I became fascinated by protein bioinformatics, sparking a lifelong passion for computational research. This led to invitations to Regeneron ISEF, National JSHS, and the 77th UNGA. With experience at Stanford AI Labs, Amazon, and Microsoft, and as a Coca-Cola Scholar and Rise Global Winner, I’m now an undergraduate at Stanford actively exploring research and startups.
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