Four graduates of the College of Letters & Science are among the seven young UW-Madison alumni recognized by the Wisconsin Alumni Association with its annual Forward under 40 Awards.
Peter Drobac (B.S.'96, Psychology), Luxme Hariharan (B.S.'04, Biology and Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian studies; M.D.'09), Jarius King (B.A.'09, Chinese) and Jessica Sack (B.A.'96, English, History and History of Culture) received the award, which honors UW-Madison alumni under the age of 40 who are already making a significant impact on the world by upholding the Wisconsin Idea, the principle that the university community should improve people's lives beyond the borders of campus.
"These Badgers are an inspiration to the rest of our campus community, and beyond this, they're an inspiration to the global community," says Kurt Bauer (B.A.'91, History and Political Science), president and CEO of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, and a member of the national WAA Board of Directors who served on the award selection committee.
"Each of them has turned their personal passion into something meaningful for society."
Drobac, the executive director at Partners in Health–Rwanda, plays an important role in improving health care options for critically ill people living in rural, impoverished communities.
Hariharan is a pediatric ophthalmology fellow at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami. She helps children around the world experience the wonders of sight by treating — and preventing — vision problems that can lead to blindness.
King travels the globe to foster youth appreciation for the arts and has founded an annual showcase for urban art and movement that is the first of its kind in Wisconsin.
Sack is the Jan and Frederick Mayer Senior Associate Curator of Public Education at the Yale University Art Gallery, where she develops cultural enrichment opportunities for children and adults.
All seven honorees from across campus are featured in the sixth edition of Forward under 40, a publication distributed this month to UW-Madison alumni and WAA members.
Honorees receive a commemorative silver medallion designed by artist Jason Noble (BFA'07, Art) and often engage with alumni, students and the campus community throughout the year. More than 85 alumni have been honored with a Forward under 40 Award since its creation in 2007. More details and insights from this year’s honorees can be found on WAA's Forward under 40 website.
Story by Sandy Knisely, Wisconsin Alumni Association