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Indian-origin student named for 2025 President’s Engagement Prize
The recognition empowers students to design and undertake post-graduation projects that make a positive, lasting difference in the world.
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Nandika Chand - Sat, 19, Apr 2025
- 02:11 EDT
- 342
Rashmi Acharya / LinkedIn/Rashmi Acharya
Rashmi Acharya, an India-origin student at the University of Pennsylvania, has been named one of the five recipients of the 2025 President’s Engagement, Innovation, and Sustainability Prizes for Nourish to Flourish.
Acharya is a health and societies major at Penn from Eden Prairie, Minnesota. According to her LinkedIn profile, she is studying Public Health and Neuroscience with a minor in Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania. She will graduate in May 2025. Acharya is striving to complete a Master in Public Health (MPH) from the Perelman School of Medicine by August 2026.
The Prizes empower Penn undergraduate students to design and undertake post-graduation projects that make a positive, lasting difference in the world. University of Pennsylvania President J. Larry Jameson, in a statement, said this year’s recipients of the President’s Prizes and their Prize-winning projects exemplify Penn’s values and strategic priorities, and the highest ideals of higher education.
“PIXEL, Nourish to Flourish, Sync Labs, and Nirby are interdisciplinary and innovative in their approach—engaging in West Philadelphia to inspire creativity and to introduce nutritional programs improving health and addressing hunger; innovating to enhance eldercare through AI; and embracing a sustainable approach to farmland soil management. On behalf of the University, I congratulate this year’s winners.”
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With two other recipients of the President’s Engagement Prize for Nourish to Flourish, Acharya will draw on principles of behavioral economics to implement school-based nutrition programs in West Philadelphia. The team will create access points for parents and families to obtain fresh produce from local farmers to address hunger and nutrition inequities, work to redesign school cafeteria spaces and change food marketing to promote healthy food choices, and offer interactive hands-on nutrition education during and after school hours.
The Nourish to Flourish team is mentored by Heather Klusaritz, associate professor of family medicine and community health at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Provost John L. Jackson Jr. congratulated the students saying their innovative ideas will shape the future. He said their projects, across diverse areas from AI and art to behavioral economics and farmland management, embody the values of their strategic framework “In Principle and Practice”, to lead on the great challenges of their time, foster leadership and service, and deepen connections.
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