Meet our 2019 Prize recipients. Click on their names to see detailed descriptions of their projects.
Jocelyne Argüelles
2019 – AT-LARGE REGION
Jocelyne Argüelles is one of the three Student Board of Education representatives for her school, as well as the president of the Latinx Student Alliance.
Karson Baldwin
2019 – OHIO
Karson Baldwin is the founder of Oné Respé, a relationship-based partnership between immigrant and refugee students at Cleveland's K-12 International Newcomers Academy and students from local independent schools that aims to achieve mutual integration through language acquisition and friendship.
Shawn Brooks
2019 – CONNECTICUT
Shawn Brooks serves as senior class president as well as president for More Than Words, a leadership diversity training club.
Emily "Emmy" Cho
2019 – ILLINOIS
Emily "Emmy" Cho is the president and co-founder of the Chicago North Shore Asian-American Youth Coalition (AAYC), which was founded with the vision of fostering communication, empathy, and solidarity among Asian-American youth in the greater Chicagoland area.
Kristopher Hill
2019 – MICHIGAN
Kristopher Hill created and directs the group Engaging in Our New Surroundings (EONS), which involves students from University Prep and Grosse Pointe South HS.
Mawahib Ismail
2019 – WASHINGTON STATE
Mawahib Ismail is a Senior Leadership Council Member in her school's Black Student Union.
Jonathan Janvier
2019 – FLORIDA (MIAMI REGION)
Jonathan Janvier serves as president and co-founder of the Racial and Social Justice Alliance, RASJA, bringing students together to discuss problems affecting their community.
Elijah Jones
2019 – PENNSYLVANIA (PHILADELPHIA REGION)
Elijah Jones is a junior class officer and is co-president of the school's Black Student Union (BSU).
Soleil Kelly
2019 – MASSACHUSETTS
Soleil Kelly is the president and founder of the Black Student Union (BSU) at the school, the first in the region, and is also a captain of the Varsity Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field teams.
Melissa Khasbagan
2019 –TEXAS (HOUSTON REGION)
Melissa Khasbagan established 1000 Books in 2018 to provide students with the resources to learn English to become global citizens.
Peyton Klein
2019 – PENNSYLVANIA (PITTSBURGH REGION)
Peyton Klein is the founder of Global Minds Initiative, a student-led, international movement to combat cultural intolerance and discrimination in schools.
Vinay Konuru
2019 – FLORIDA (TAMPA REGION)
Vinay Konuru is organizing a community workshop on the importance of racial diversity in gifted education, inviting nationally renowned education researchers and alumni of the school to speak.
Sarina Krishnan
2019 – CALIFORNIA (SAN DIEGO REGION)
Sarina Krishnan is a San Diego native and loves the city's vastly diverse community of people with unique cultures, religions, and backgrounds.
Sabrina McFarland
2019 – CALIFORNIA (SAN FRANCISCO REGION)
Sabrina McFarland has led and assisted in a broad spectrum of school-wide programming aimed at improving race relations
Audrey McNeal
2019 – GEORGIA
Audrey McNeal founded the first political debate club in her school's history called Political Converse.
Hananeel Morinville
2019 – KANSAS
Hananeel Morinville founded the Black Student Union at Shawnee Mission North High School in Overland Park and serves as its current president.
Ana Mosisa
2019 – MARYLAND
Ana Mosisa has engaged in various race relations activities throughout her community. She is the founder and president of her school's African Affairs Club, which is dedicated to celebrating and sharing African cultures.
Kennedy Musgrave
2019 – TENNESSEE (NASHVILLE REGION)
Kennedy Musgrave created the International Baccalaureate Achievers program for African American students on track to enter or pursuing the IB Diploma.
Frishta Nasari
2019– TEXAS (DALLAS REGION)
Frishta Nasari is a senior at Emmett J. Conrad High School in Dallas. Frioshta fled war and persecution in Ghazni, Afghanistan at the age of 13. After living as a refugee in Sri Lanka for two and a half years, she and her family were resettled in Dallas by the International Rescue Committee (IRC). As a result of her journey, Frishta missed a…
Elijah "RaShad" Oliver
2019 – TENNESSEE (MEMPHIS REGION)
Elijah “RaShad” Oliver has dedicated the last few years to engineering bonds to fix racial fracturing in both his school and local communities.
Nia Reid-Vicars
2019 – NEW YORK (NEW YORK CITY REGION)
During her junior year, Nia Reid-Vicars created her school's Black Student Union as a way for the small number of black students to share their stories of racial discrimination.
Jazmine Shaw
2019 – NEW JERSEY (NORTHERN NJ REGION)
Jazmine Shaw serves on the executive board of David Brearley Middle/High School's Race Matters Alliance.
Amela Sijecic
2019 – MISSOURI
Amela Sijecic serves as the founder and president for a program called S.I.D.E. With Us (Students Improving Diversity & Equity), which includes student-led and educational components.
Joshua St. Hill
2019 - WASHINGTON D.C.
Joshua St. Hill was the playwright and lead actor of an award-winning play, "A King's Story."
Mei Mei Sun
2019 – ALABAMA
Mei Mei Sun has been acutely aware of the neo-segregation that plagues the Magic City.
Bianca Torres Murray
2019 – CALIFORNIA (LOS ANGELES REGION)
Bianca Torres Murray interned for Professor Sean Kennedy at Loyola Law School's (LLS) Center for Juvenile Law and Policy.
Kayla E. Webster
2019 – NEW JERSEY (CENTRAL & SOUTH REGION)
Kayla E. Webster is president of the school's African American Culture Club and co-founder and vice president of the second high school chapter of the NAACP in New Jersey.
Kidest Yigezu
2019 – NEW YORK (ROCHESTER REGION)
Kidest Yigezu is president of the Mosaics Club, which opens doors to start dialogues about racial inequality and social justice.