Owen is a student in the College of Arts and Sciences studying
Sociology and French from Boonville, Indiana. Arriving at Penn marked
him as the first student from his high school to attend an Ivy League
in thirty years. Fueled by this historic achievement, Owen knew he
would take full advantage of an opportunity rarely afforded to
students from small town America. By joining the SNF Paideia Class of
2028 Cohort, he hopes to expand his liberal arts education through
participation in service that puts his passions into practice and
dialogue that opens his mind to perspectives he might not otherwise
have understood.
Owen is most passionate about how education can be used as a tool for
upward mobility around the world. Outside of class, Owen is involved
with the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education and the College
of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Advisory Board. These involvements allow
him to bring a unique perspective to actions that directly affect the
Penn experience while expanding his knowledge of education policy and
administration.
Mainly, Owen is drawn to conversations where he can actively
participate in changing minds, transforming his own perspectives, and
discovering common ground. His upbringing in a Midwestern town of
7,000 has taught him the value in living among, making conversation
with, and learning from those whom he most often disagrees. Owen hopes
the SNF Paideia Fellowship Program will allow him to pursue that
passion here at Penn as he continues to prove that a student’s ceiling
for success should never be determined by their zip code.
Fellow, Class of 2028