2016 PRINCETON PRIZE IN RACE RELATIONS AWARD CEREMONY - May 25, 2016

Please join us for a reception and ceremony featuring speaker Princeton alumna Michelle Silverthorn '04 and honoring local students from Evanston Township High School, Lockport Township High School,  Northside College Prep, and Illinois Math and Science Academy.  RSVP by 5/25 @ noon!

The Princeton Prize is awarded to high school students in 25 regions across the nation.  Recipients are chosen by local committees of Princeton alumni who review the applications each year.  Each Princeton Prize award winner receives $1000 and a trip to Princeton University to attend the Princeton Prize in Race Relations Symposium.
 
11th ANNUAL PRINCETON PRIZE IN RACE RELATIONS AWARD CEREMONY HONORING
 
MAYA CROWE-BARNES
Senior, Evanston Township High School 
2016 PRINCETON PRIZE
 
BILAL OTHMAN
Lockport Township High School
2016 CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION 
 
SUMMER DAMRA
Northside College Prep
2016 CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION 
 
RIVALI THIMMAPURAM
Illinois Math and Science Academy
2016 CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION
 
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
5:30 - 7:30 pm
(reception at 5:30 pm with program to begin at 6 pm)
 
Northern Trust
Global Conference Center - Assembly Room
50 S LaSalle Street 
Chicago, IL 60603
Please use Monroe Street entrance 
 
With Guest Speaker Michelle Silverthorn '04
Princeton Prize in Race Relations National Board Member
Diversity and Education Director, Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism
 
There is no charge for this event thanks to the generosity of our host - Northern Trust and Jason Tyler '93.
 
Click HERE to RSVP by MONDAY 5/25 @ noon!
 
Questions?  Contact PPRR Co-Chairs:
Carl Yudell '75 at carl@yudell.net 
Marquis Parker '99 at marquis.parker@gmail.com
 
 
T H E   P R I N C E T O N   P R I Z E   I N   R A C E   R E L A T I O N S
 
“To promote harmony, understanding, and respect among people of different races by identifying and recognizing high school age students whose efforts have had a significant, positive effect on race relations in their schools or communities.” 
 
There is perhaps no greater challenge facing our country than increasing understanding and cooperation among people of different racial backgrounds.  It is a challenge that every new generation encounters.  We therefore believe that young people have a particularly important role to play, and hope, through the Princeton Prize, to recognize and encourage young people who have made or are making efforts to improve racial harmony. 
 
Princeton and its alumni recognize that the issue of race relations continues to be one of the most urgent and important challenges facing our country.  We have created this program to identify and commend young people who are working to increase understanding and mutual respect among all races.  Through the Princeton Prize we hope to encourage others to join in these or similar efforts and to undertake initiatives of their own. 
 
To learn more about the Princeton Prize in Race Relations, please visit: http://www.princeton.edu/pprize/  

Maya Crowe-Barnes, 2016 Princeton Prize for Chicago

Maya is being honored for her tireless commitment to advancing the cause of race relations in her school, her community and beyond.  Maya has been actively involved with SOAR (Students Organized Against Racism) first as a freshman participant and now during her last two years as a member of the Student Leadership Board.  SOAR has several initiatives, but the most visible are the twice a year two day conferences attended by 100 or more students from Evanston High School and other Chicagoland high schools.  The SOAR conferences are designed and created by the Student Leadership Board “to provide students with a framework for engaging in interracial dialogue and to build a community of anti-racist leaders at ETHS.”  Not only has Maya been a leader and a creator of programs at the conferences, she had challenged the Evanston Township High School Board in evening Board meetings to continue this needed work with moral support and with funds to continue racial consciousness training for the staff at ETHS.  Maya has further worked with the Student Leadership Board of SOAR to create several new programs including: (1) The Alliance, a restorative justice program addressing racial conflicts between students and teachers; (2) Mix It Up Day, an interactive session addressing self-segregation in the school cafeteria; and (3) Equity Zones, a program where students nominate staff members for conversations about race, gender identity, class, sexual identity and physical and mental ability.  In the words of her sponsor, Corey Winchester, during her 4 years at ETHS, Maya has become “a champion of racial equity and justice, inspiring other students to do the same.” 

Michelle Silverthorn '04, Guest Speaker

Michelle Silverthorn '04 is the Diversity & Education Director for the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism. Through the Commission's online platform, 2Civility, Michelle expands the Commission’s national presence through blogs, social networking sites, and online discussion groups on legal education, diversity and young lawyers. Michelle works with law schools, law students and other legal groups, developing interactive and dynamic education courses and workshops. She also spearheads the professionalism education goals of the Commission, reviewing courses, attending conferences, and developing professionalism programs. She writes and speaks frequently on inter-generational issues in the workplace. She is certified both in instructional design and intercultural competency.

Prior to joining the Commission, Michelle worked as a litigation associate with Schiff Hardin in Chicago and Latham & Watkins in New York City. She also previously worked as an arts and entertainment journalist in Trinidad and Tobago, a legal researcher in Puno, Peru and Geneva, Switzerland, and a volunteer teacher in Gaborone, Botswana and Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Michelle grew up in the Caribbean and now lives in Chicago with her husband Daniel and their two daughters. She volunteers in her local and professional community, including serving as Co-Chair of the Michigan Law Alumni Club of Chicago, Director for the Princeton Club of Chicago, and an elected Community Representative for her Local School Council. Michelle received her undergraduate degree from Princeton University and her law degree from the University of Michigan Law School.