The University of Pennsylvania 2016 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Symposium on Social Change honored members of the community, Penn faculty, staff and students at the MLK, Jr. Interfaith Program in January. This year’s award recipients are:

Rodin Education Award: In honor of Penn President Emerita Judith Rodin, this award is given to a Penn faculty member, staff member, student or a community resident who demonstrates significant contributions in community service and/or social justice efforts through the advancement of education and educational opportunities in Philadelphia. This year’s recipient is Sheila A. Sydnor, the founding and retiring (at the end of the school year) principal of the Penn Alexander School. Ms. Sydnor’s sense of education and community has served to build collaborative relationships among teachers, administrators, students and parents.

Community: Alexa Grabelle, a high school freshman, is the founder and operator of Bags of Books. To date, she has collected more than 60,000 new and gently used children’s books to distribute to school-age students in Philadelphia and southern New Jersey.

                      Gregory Bucceroni is an advocate for some of the most underserved communities in Philadelphia. He aims to stop violence while working toward racial equality and harmony for children and the citizens of Philadelphia.

Staff: John McCoy works in the emergency department at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He is the leader of West Philadelphia Boy Scout Troop 152. Once his son reached the rank of Eagle Scout (the highest honor), he stayed on as a troop leader. In 2014, Troop 152 produced five Eagle Scouts and drew national attention, as no troop had ever awarded that many black Eagle Scouts at one time.

Student: Michelle Rungamirai Munyikwa is a fourth-year MD-PhD student at Penn. She helped organize “Cut Hypertension,” which offers screenings for hypertension and counseling about nutrition and wellness in a West Philadelphia barbershop on Sunday afternoons. In addition, she volunteers with the Penn Women’s Refugee Clinic to provide medical evaluations for those seeking asylum in the US.