Round Rock student, programmer starts nonprofit to better the world

Tech entrepreneur, inventor, speaker, author and, most recently, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founder — 12-year-old Arjun Sharda of Round Rock has it all and he’s just getting started.

His organization, TLEEM — short for Technology, Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Engineering and Mathematics — aims to help students develop their skills in the field while making the world a better place. 

Arjun began his passion for programming when using Roblox Lua, a script program that is often used in coding video games and applications. Moving from Roblox to Python then Java Scripts, he said he started a club to find peers with similar interests in programming to step up and help other people grow their skills. 

“I thought, ‘If I can help my school, why can’t I help the world as well?’ ” he said.  

With some help from his mom, Arjun filed TLEEM as a nonprofit with the Texas Secretary of State in October. About a month later, the organization filed for 501(c)(3) with the IRS in November.

Through word of mouth and social media, the organization grew to have four chapters: two in the States and two in India. Within the next year, TLEEM plans to add two more chapters in Virginia and New York. 

“I felt like it could succeed because we have plans for, like, a conference, a networking program, a gifted individuals program and many more things,” Arjun said. “This can help society because there aren't many organizations like this right now.”

The TLEEM team consists of 13 people: four board members, six software engineers and two chapter adjudicators. Currently, the nonprofit receives a $10,000 ad grant per month from Google's Nonprofit Program to help with funding.

Arjun plans on expanding the organization to Europe and Asia within the next year. Additionally, a conference is in the works for 2025, which would cover how people are changing and disrupting the TLEEM fields. 

When he’s not focused on TLEEM, Arjun is an Open Source Programmer, author and speaker. In August 2023, he had the opportunity to speak at the DeveloperWeek Cloud X Conference in San Mateo, California. He talked about how people can leverage Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for best practices.  

For fellow peers, Arjun said the best piece of advice is to take chances. 

“You have to take risks in life because without taking risks, you can't go anywhere,” he said. “It’s just not about age, it's about experiences and the skills because age doesn't really matter when it comes to experiences and skills.” 

At the end of the day, Arjun’s goal with TLEEM is to make a positive impact.

“I just want to change the world,” he said. “I want to help the world before I die, because if I can change the world, if I can make an impact, it would be really great. I would be at peace with that.”

For schools interested in starting a TLEEM chapter, visit www.tleem.org for more information.