Gephardt-involved WashU students and alumni — including Student Engagement Specialist Sophie Devincenti, Donovan Dixson ’24, Sophie Lin ’26, Nick Okafor ’16, Aspen Schisler ‘26, Charlie Shaw ’24, Laken Sylvander ‘17, Pat Wang ’24, and Da’Juantay Wynter ‘26 — were honored recently for their civic engagement efforts and community contributions.
The U.S. National Science Foundation announced their Visionary Interdisciplinary Teams Advancing Learning (VITAL) Prize Challenge winners at the end of February, with trubel&co taking first place in the “Mathematical Literacy to Promote a Future STEM Workforce” category. Through STEM education and civic innovation, trubel&co uses data, design and technology to champion diverse youth to tackle societal challenges. It was founded by Civic Scholar alum Nick Okafor ’16 and supported by Civic Scholar alum Laken Sylvander ‘17, trubel&co’s Director of Communications and Marketing. Fox-Clark Civic Scholar Donovan Dixson ’24 spent his Civic Summer working with the organization.
Launched in the fall of 2022, the VITAL Prize Challenge takes a novel approach to bringing new, emerging innovations to K-12 learning, with a focus on rapid and continuous learning assessment and mathematical literacy to promote a future science, technology, engineering and mathematics workforce, and other innovative concepts and technologies to support diverse communities of K-12 student learners and teachers.
Da’Juantay Wynter ‘26, a Mosbacher St. Louis Fellow, was selected to participate in The Institute for Responsible Citizenship’s prestigious Washington Program, a selective program for talented Black men in college. Starting in June, in the first of a two-summer commitment, Wynter — selected from among hundreds of applicants — will take on a Washington, D.C.-based internship, join a seminar about economic and constitutional principles, meet public and private sector leaders, and attend professional and personal development workshops.
Gephardt-involved students and institute staff were honored with Spectrum Awards at the annual ceremony on Wednesday, March 20, for their advocacy and service to LGBTQIA+ communities. Sophie Lin ’26, a WUPan Fellow in the St. Louis Fellows Program, was presented the Sylvia Rivera & Marsha P. Johnson Activism Award for both their work as an intern at Missouri advocacy organization PROMO, and co-organizing/curating The Queer Experience: Joy as Resistance Art Exhibition held at Stix House last fall. Aspen Schisler ‘26 was honored for both her efforts co-curating The Queer Experience and her work with Kaleidoscope, a WashU Living Learning Community. Gephardt’s Student Engagement Specialist, Sophie Devincenti, received the James Baldwin Committed Educator Award, for her work spearheading the art show.
Pat Wang ’24, a 2021 Dr. John C. Morris Fellow in the St. Louis Fellows Program and a Seiden Family Civic Scholar, received the Audre Lorde Academic Exploration Award for his work supporting older LGBTQIA+ seniors, and for his 2022 documentary film, “Beyond Voting: What Voting Means to the LGBTQ Community.” Charlie Shaw ‘24 was honored with the Frida Kahlo Creative Arts Award, for their portfolio of artwork. Shaw also presented work at The Queer Experience art exhibit.