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Madison, Wis. (May 10, 2019) – The first social impact pitch competition at Edgewood College – a new component of Edgewood Engaged – saw the project ‘Her Empowerment Race Zone’ (HERZ) awarded first place.  The brainchild of Natasha Sichula, a senior majoring in Cytotechnology, HERZ advocates for distribution of free sanitary care packages to girls in her hometown of Mufulira, Zambia.

“Inspired by our Dominican values, we try every means to help students link their study and reflection to community needs,” Dean Pribbenow, Vice President for Academic Affairs/Academic Dean, said. “I cannot think of any better examples than the presentations we heard this morning.”

All told, seven students projects took part in the competition, all of which aim to solve urgent social problems. This year they included substance disorder treatment, juvenile transition, undocumented student support, community sustainability through recycling as art, and more.

The panel of five judges for the competition included Joe Maldonado, Director of Community Impact-Education for United Way of Dane County. “It was excellent to witness such innovative, diverse pitches that address some of our biggest societal challenges and opportunities,” Maldonado said. “I am proud and honored to have been a part of this competition.”

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