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President's Engagement Prizes
Seeking justice, support for incarcerated Pennsylvanians
As winners of the 2021 President’s Engagement Prize, Carson Eckhard, Natalia Rommen, and Sarah Simon provide hope for wrongfully convicted people and a roadmap for inmates set for release.
Changing lives in refugee communities through access to clean water
As winners of the 2021 President’s Engagement Prize, May graduates Martin Leet and Leah Voytovich co-founded Maji, a nonprofit organization dedicated to projects that support refugee initiatives in Uganda.
Body Empowerment Project is a health-centered approach to self-care
Supported by the President’s Engagement Prize, two 2021 graduates founded a nonprofit focused on eating disorder prevention, bringing workshops to Philadelphia public schools, taught by Penn student volunteers.
Turning empty spaces into comfortable homes
Since 2018, the President’s Engagement Prize-winning team behind Chicago Furniture Bank has operated full speed ahead—already furnishing 5,500 homes for more than 14,000 people in need.
Penn seniors target eating disorder risk at Philadelphia public high schools
President’s Engagement Prize-winning project Be Body Positive Philly, led by seniors Christina Miranda and Amanda Moreno, is designed to address eating disorder risk among Philadelphia high school students.
Hope and help for wrongfully incarcerated Pennsylvanians
With Project HOPE, President’s Engagement Prize winners Carson Eckhard, Natalia Rommen, and Sarah Simon will address the lack of support to wrongfully incarcerated people in Philadelphia and across the state.
Empowering refugee communities with access to clean water
With project Maji, seniors Martin Leet and Leah Voytovich will use their President’s Engagement Prize to install a solar-powered water tank and provide agricultural and first aid training for members of the Olua I community.
Class of 2021 President’s Engagement and Innovation Prize winners announced
The Prizes enable students to take on post-graduation projects that make a positive, lasting difference in the world.
A pivot, from financial literacy to restorative justice
Collective Climb won a 2020 President’s Engagement Prize as a West Philadelphia-based financial literacy project, but shifted their focus to engage with young people around the issue of community violence.
Increasing access to life-saving, unused medicines in India
Aarogya, a social-enterprise organization, is led by three President’s Engagement Prize winners. Since receiving the award, they’ve started delivering otherwise-unused medicines that save lives and money.
In the News
A Philly exoneree works to free other wrongly convicted people. First up: His codefendant
Penn students and alumni, including the President’s Engagement Prize winning team behind Project Hope, have been working with the Terrance Lewis Liberation Foundation to support wrongly convicted people.
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Penn hoops star Princess Aghayere is using her passion for teamwork to save girls’ lives in Liberia
The senior leader of Penn’s 2019 regular season Ivy Champions left Philadelphia after graduation, and traveled 4,600-mile to Liberia. With Penn friends Summer Kollie and Oladunni Alomaja, Aghayere started Rebound Liberia, a youth program whose goal is to use basketball to empower girls in the small West African country.
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9 Penn students win big prizes to fund projects to promote social change
Penn has awarded nine graduating seniors with the annual President’s Engagement and Innovation prizes. President Amy Gutmann said, “Each of the prize recipients has demonstrated a purpose-driven desire to get out and make a difference in their community, across the country, and around the world.”
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