Community impact stories

Second-year law student Raz Barnea has always believed in paying it forward, playing his part in public service through a two-year Peace Corps post in Jamaica.

With a passion for equity, sophomore Joshua Dawson is advocating for — and empowering — underrepresented pre-med students.

Christine Tran, a Ph.D. student in the College of Education, is peeling back the complex issues surrounding hunger in our nation’s schools.

A new study by UW biology professor Samuel Wasser shows that DNA tracing might be the solution to stopping illegal ivory tusk trafficking in Africa, saving elephants from extinction in the process.

A whiz with words, UW senior Jack Chelgren is on a mission to make poetry present and relevant on campus and around the community.

Thanks to a groundbreaking study linking some common medications to an increased risk of dementia in older adults, pharmacy Professor Shelly Gray’s impact has gone global.

Temo Ojeda came to the University of Washington with a passion for startups, and thanks to the Lavin Entrepreneurship Program, the most valuable lessons he’s learned have been outside the classroom.

Saloni Parikh took her passion for global health and her knack for computer science halfway across the world, playing a key role in HIV-fighting research.

Thanks to scholarship support, Dashni Amin was able to draw inspiration from her parents’ sacrifices — and prepare herself for a future of helping others.

Forefront, a UW-based organization, teams up with Facebook in the name of suicide prevention.

By applying PET technology to a standard mammography machine, UW startup PET/X hopes to streamline the treatment process for breast cancer patients, knocking out costs and side effects along the way.

Once a homeless youth with a devastating addiction to drugs and alcohol, Mark Bennett is on his way to earning his bachelor’s in mathematics at the UW — all while giving back to the community that saved him and raising his 9-year-old son.

Take a closer look at the UW’s new statewide Economic Impact Report. Plus, see what that impact means right in your own backyard.

The gifts that Greta Sedlock, ’77, and her late husband Tom, ’70, ’74, made to the University of Washington support innovators, including one who saved Greta’s son’s life.