Onaje McDowelle, University of Texas at Austin

Spearheaded by senior Vanjessica Gladney, the Penn History of Slavery Project has colleges across the country reassessing their ties to slavery.

Andria Modica, Drexel University

Philadelphia isn’t just philly cheesesteaks and soft pretzels.

Maya Halabi, UTSA

Matiza, an undergraduate at Pennsylvania State University, reopened the online grocery and appliance store Zimbogini for citizens of his native country.

Lizzy Spangler, University of North Texas

With her organization “STEM You Can!,” girls are learning about STEM subjects through fun and interactive experiments.

Kelly Keglovits, UT Austin

The Penn student founded the initiative to expose young people in developing countries to tech opportunities.

Giselle Krachenfels, USC

With his company, Slice Capital, Shah plans to disrupt the investment market by creating a system in which users can fund start-ups with little of the traditional risk.

Christina Vazquez, University of Central Florida 

Michael Rodriguez, a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania, is the son of Cuban immigrants whose sacrifices have helped inspire his desire to succeed.

Gaige Davila, UTSA

The UPenn student, who’s majoring in Economics, competes in water sports internationally and has been sponsored by Red Bull, GoPro and Roxy, among others.

Lindsay Biondy, University of Pittsburgh

Rajat Bhageria, entrepreneur and founder of ThirdEye Technologies, set out to create revolutionary software and succeeded wildly.

Emma Taubenfeld, Pace University

The University of Pennsylvania senior is using his perspective as a student and his background in public health to change how society deals with substance abuse.

Lindsay Biondy, University of Pittsburgh

The economics major has had a knack for entrepreneurship since he was 8 years old, when he sold parking spots to tailgaters in his parents’ front lawn.