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City of Philadelphia

Ballerina Emily Davis is ‘on her toes’
Ballerina Emily Davis completed her Penn degree while dancing with the Pennsylvania Ballet.

May graduate Emily Davis earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the College of Liberal and Professional Studies while working full-time as a ballerina with the Pennsylvania Ballet and volunteering to conduct research at CHOP and community service with Philadelphia nonprofits. (Image: Arian Molina Soca)

Ballerina Emily Davis is ‘on her toes’

May graduate Emily Davis earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the College of Liberal and Professional Studies while working full-time as a ballerina with the Pennsylvania Ballet and volunteering to conduct research at CHOP and community service with Philadelphia nonprofits.
Hope and help for wrongfully incarcerated Pennsylvanians
Three women wearing face masks and office dress clothes stand on a pathway with a tree full of pink flowers behind them

Carson Eckhard (left), Sarah Simon (center) and Natalia Rommen (right) won the President's Engagement Prize for Project HOPE.

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.

Kristen de Groot

Student-athletes for an anti-racist society
A composite of Michae Jones, left, and Jelani Williams right. Both are standing outside of the Palestra. Williams, wearing a red Penn hoodie, leans against a tree with his arms folded. Jones stands with her hands on her hips.

Student-athletes for an anti-racist society

Junior Jelani Williams of the men’s basketball team and senior Michae Jones of the women’s basketball team are leaders among Penn’s student-athlete community in the fight for social justice and racial equality.
A pivot, from financial literacy to restorative justice
Mckayla Warwick and Kwaku Owusu wear face masks while walking down a street in West Philadelphia.

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.

Kristina García

Husnaa Haajarah Hashim sees poetry as transformative
Student sitting in wooden chair.

Husnaa Haajarah Hashim, a Philadelphia Youth Poet Laureate, is a junior at Penn, an Africana studies major, and creative writing minor.

Husnaa Haajarah Hashim sees poetry as transformative

As poetry is in the national spotlight following the Biden inauguration, junior Husnaa Haajarah Hashim, a Philadelphia Youth Poet Laureate, reflects on her writing and scholarship.
Transcending movement with Philadanco!
Modern dancers with arms outstretched perform in a spotlight as confetti rains

Philadanco! performing Oshun. The March 3 performance was revised for length and number of dancers. (Image: Julianne Harris) 

Transcending movement with Philadanco!

In a live virtual performance, principal dancers from Philadanco! performed “Oshun” before sitting down to a conversation on dancing, choreography, and choice.

Kristina García

Penn Museum interns explore jazz through family, protest, and creativity
Father plays keyboard while his daughter smiles. Bookshelves in background.

Music is “a kind of family love language” for Guthrie Ramsey (right) and his daughter Bridget Ramsey (left). “One of my deepest joys is that I’ve been able to pass that along,” he says. 

Penn Museum interns explore jazz through family, protest, and creativity

Penn Museum interns delve into “The Year of Jazz” through a monthly series of events exploring family, protest, and creativity. Music Professor Guthrie Ramsey and his singer/songwriter daughter Bridget Ramsey headline the first event on Feb. 28.

Kristina García