Ten graduating seniors were awarded the 2021 President’s Engagement and Innovation Prizes, which provide $100,000 in funding for projects designed to make a positive, lasting difference in the world. Each team member also receives a $50,000 living stipend and mentorship from a Penn faculty member. The prizes are the largest of their kind in higher education. Here are this year’s winning projects:
PRESIDENT’S ENGAGEMENT PRIZES
Project HOPE | Elizabeth Carson Eckhard C’21, Natalia Rommen C’21, and Sarah Simon C’21 plan to address the lack of legal and reentry support to incarcerated Philadelphians with an expansive advocacy network. Mentor: Marissa Boyers Bluestine, assistant director of the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice.
Maji | Martin Leet C’21 and Leah Voytovich EAS’21 will install a solar-powered water tank for both household and irrigation use in the Olua I Refugee Settlement camp in Uganda, as well as offer agricultural and first-aid medical training to refugees. Mentor: Ocek Eke, director of global and local service-learning programs in Penn Engineering.
Be Body Positive Philly | Christina Miranda C’21 and Amanda Moreno C’21 will address eating disorder risk among Philadelphia high school students by implementing a body-positivity curriculum and a near-peer mentorship model. Mentor: Caroline Watts, director of school and community engagement at the Graduate School of Education.
PRESIDENT’S INNOVATION PRIZES
Mobility | Aris Saxena W’21 and Yiwen Li C’21 W’21 have created software for health clinics in Africa to seamlessly coordinate at-home primary healthcare for patients in under-resourced areas with little technological access. Mentor: Tyler Wry, associate professor of management at Wharton.
Lumify Care | Anthony Scarpone-Lambert Nu’21 Gr’24 aims to support frontline healthcare workers with a product called uNight Light, a wearable LED light allowing workers to illuminate their workspace while decreasing patient sleep disturbances. Mentor: Therese S. Richmond, the Andrea B. Laporte Professor of Nursing and associate dean for research and innovation at Penn Nursing.
