An empty outdoor space is transformed into a social garden nocred An empty outdoor space is transformed into a social garden A 2023 Project for Progress initiative, the Breathing Room at Sayre High School was unveiled this spring.
Connecting the West Philadelphia community to careers nocred Connecting the West Philadelphia community to careers The West Philadelphia Skills Initiative is a workforce development partnership between the University City District, Penn Medicine, and the University committed to develop career opportunities for local residents.
A shared passion for community engagement (Left to right) Penn GSE’s Vicki Swanson, Hongyang Zhao, and Toby Johnson share how their how community engagements deepen their connection with West Philadelphia.(Image: Scott Spitzer) A shared passion for community engagement The Graduate School of Education helps students put their knowledge into practice through community engagement. Three soon-to-be graduates speak with Penn Today about how their service enabled them to deepen their connection with West Philadelphia.
The multifaceted Mya Gordon Mia Gordon at the Bio Pond.nocred The multifaceted Mya Gordon With a passion for community engagement, Mya Gordon balances her drive with hobbies, friends, and finding beauty in imperfection.
Educate to Empower aims to break down barriers to breast cancer screenings “In Philadelphia, in particular West Philly, there’s a lot of communities that don’t have the access to health care that they need, even though Penn is right here,” says Moorkanat (right). “Our thinking behind this was that if we can deliver the resources to them, instead of making them come to Penn, maybe we can start to bridge that gap.”nocred Educate to Empower aims to break down barriers to breast cancer screenings With the President’s Engagement Prize, fourth-years Simran Rajpal and Gauthami Moorkanat plan to deliver education and resources directly to community centers in Philadelphia, tackling medical mistrust, health literacy, and more.
Who, What, Why: Ariana Jimenez and the High School Voter Project To work on providing basic care for classmates, the Sayre students decided to provide easy access to hygiene products—deodorant, shampoo, bodywash, lip balm, tampons, and pads—to their peers.nocred Who, What, Why: Ariana Jimenez and the High School Voter Project As part of a student-run, nonpartisan, Netter Center initiative, Ariana Jimenez focuses on youth voter registration, civic engagement, and education in West Philadelphia.
Penn students, staff work the polls on primary day Tuesday was primary day in Pennsylvania, and Penn’s campus played host to three polling places where students and the community could cast their ballots.nocred Penn students, staff work the polls on primary day Penn’s campus played host to eight polling places where students and community members cast their ballots, with a team of trained poll workers keeping the action running smoothly.
Bringing cognitive science in action to young minds A Penn Upward Bound high school student observed brown-headed cowbird behavior at the Penn Smart Aviary.nocred Bringing cognitive science in action to young minds Penn Upward Bound high school students from West Philadelphia got a tour of the Penn Smart Aviary, GRASP Lab, and the Penn Vet Working Dog Center during a visit to Pennovation Works.
37th annual Women of Color Day at Penn Valerie Dorsey-Allen (left) poses with Colleen Winn (right), who won the Joann Mitchell Outstanding Legacy award. nocred 37th annual Women of Color Day at Penn The annual Women of Color at Penn awards honored students, staff, faculty and community members for their research, leadership, and service.
The West Philadelphia Collaborative History Project chronicles a community’s past A vintage postcard featuring the Crystal Pool at Woodside Park amusement park in West Philadelphia. (Image: Courtesy of Penn GSE) The West Philadelphia Collaborative History Project chronicles a community’s past Sponsored by Penn’s Graduate School of Education, the project is a digital repository of neighborhood, institutional, and community histories.