It is with great pleasure that we introduce you to the new Lang Opportunity Scholarship (LOS) Class of 2027 (left to right): Chung Sze Kwok, Sarah Cymrot, Pedro Ennes, Amelia Crill
The Lang Opportunity Scholarship (LOS) Program each year selects members of Swarthmore’s sophomore class as Lang Scholars. Selection criteria include distinguished academic and co-curricular achievement, leadership qualities, and demonstrated commitment to civic and social responsibility. This program offers a diverse range of benefits including a $12,000 grant, a designated adviser, and networking opportunities to support the development of a project that creates a needed social resource in the U.S. or abroad. The program was conceived and endowed by Eugene M. Lang ’38.
Apply
Sophomores in good standing are welcome to apply. There is a two step application process.
Note: The Lang Opportunity Scholarship is not in service of Swarthmore College and does not create an employment relationship between the student(s) and the College.
LOS Class of 2027
Amelia Crill ’27 | Bellevue, Washington
“There is an unprecedented amount of funding to remove lead from drinking water, paint, and other sources of contamination. However, a lack of stringent regulations, poor enforcement policy, and disconnects between funding and those who need it put everyone, but especially environmental justice communities like Chester, PA, at risk. Conversations about community resilience in Chester emphasize empowering younger generations, but lead, a neurotoxin, is especially detrimental to children’s development.”
Through data collection and community education regarding lead contamination, Amelia’s proposed project aims to fill existing gaps in data and knowledge, helping promote community health in Chester.
“This project will help me understand, through experience, what it means to engage in community-oriented, impact-driven research, a learned responsibility I hope to carry throughout my future scientific career. [Further] there is insufficient awareness about toxic contamination in Chester, particularly on how to access remediation, so I hope my project produces something tangibly impactful that helps community members advocate for themselves and take advantage of existing resources.”
Sarah Cymrot ‘27 | Washington, DC
“Serious illnesses are transformational -- oftentimes deeply destabilizing -- life events which force a reconceptualization of our identities and place in the world around us. In the face of these challenges, narrative construction presents itself as an effective intervention, with the potential to serve as a sense-making and empowering tool.”
Sarah’s proposed project, Patient’s Notes, will consist of a series of Philly-area illness narrative workshops which will support adolescent patients in writing their stories in the wake of medical trauma. These workshops could lead to the development of a curriculum to contribute to the growing conversation around the role of the humanities in healthcare.
“As I celebrate the 5th anniversary of a stroke that I survived in early adolescence, I am just so grateful for this opportunity to support other young people in the work of recovery. I am eager to dive into this exploration of the role of storytelling in the healthcare setting and honored to be joining the incredible community of Lang Scholars, past and present.”
Pedro Ennes ‘27 | Elizabeth, New Jersey
“Immigration has been a fervent topic in the United States for many years now, and caught in the crossfire of this ideological war lie undocumented dreamers. Brought into this country as kids, undocumented students face unfair challenges that limit their opportunities for social mobility.”
To tackle this issue, Pedro’s project aims to establish a mentorship program for undocumented high schoolers with the intention of helping them achieve higher education. Fostering community knowledge, Pedro seeks to create a peer-to-peer support network for individuals whose existence is deemed illegal by the government.
“Becoming a Lang Opportunity Scholar means committing myself to building a more equitable and fair society for all. My goal with this project is to offer a light of hope to a marginalized community whose future and value is unjustly dictated by their lack of a piece of paper.”
Chung Sze Kwok ‘27 | Surrey, England
“Since the launch of a bespoke visa program for Hong Kong British nationals (overseas) in 2021, the UK has seen an unprecedented wave of immigration from Hong Kong. Consequently, schools across the country are welcoming increasing numbers of new immigrant students, who face unique and varied socio-emotional and academic challenges within and beyond the classroom.”
Chung Sze’s intended project seeks to create space for constructive dialogue between local teachers and recent arrivals from Hong Kong, and engage teachers as scholar-practitioners in the creation and curation of resources to support the continuing development of thoughtful, informed and culturally sustaining pedagogical practices.
“Being a Lang Scholar is both a daunting responsibility and a door-opening opportunity which will provide me with unparalleled support in actively grounding my Swarthmore coursework in the context of topical issues at home; I am incredibly grateful to all my professors, mentors, community partners, friends and family members who have already been thinking critically with me about these connections. Through my project, I hope to explore ways to better the school experiences of Hong Kong immigrant students and families by contributing to the development of more thoughtful and culturally-aware teaching practices among educators in and around my local area"
LOS Class of 2026
Meet the Lang Opportunity Scholarship (LOS) Class of 2026 (clockwise from top left): Cheng-Yen Wu, Danika Grieser, Lena Habtu, Prerna Karmacharya, Myadaggarav Chuluundorj, and Hans Tuti Daniel Steven Mukum Tembele.
Meet the Lang Opportunity Scholarship (LOS) Class of 2025 (clockwise from top left) Olivia Han ’25, Katherine Kihiczak ’25, Feven Shonga ’25, Lina Verghese ’25, Helena Werneck ’25, and Aqua Withers Carello ’25.
Dr. Magee provides leadership, implementation, and assessment of key programs of the Center that fund the work of social responsibility, including the Engaged Scholarship Research Grant program for faculty and for students: Lang Opportunity Scholarship Program, Lang Social Impact Fellowship, Pilot Project Grant Program, Project Pericles Fund of Swarthmore College, and Davis Projects for Peace. Office hours by appointment.
