History Major Chinaza Ruth Okonkwo has been awarded a 2021 Beinecke Scholarship to pursue a graduate education in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.

Chinaza Okonkwo

Okonkwo is one of only 16 Beinecke Scholars chosen throughout the United States, and the 14th recipient from Penn since the award was first given in 1975. Universities may nominate only one student, and this year there were about 100 applicants. This is the third consecutive year that a Penn student has been named a Beinecke Scholar.

Okonkwo, from Los Angeles, is majoring in philosophy and history with concentrations in moral and political philosophy and world history in the School of Arts & Sciences. She is also pursuing minors in Africana studiesgender, sexuality, and women's studies; and Native American and Indigenous studies. She sub-matriculated into the philosophy master’s program and will be receiving her master’s degree along with her bachelor’s degree upon graduation in 2022.

At Penn Okonkwo is a Mellon Mays Research Fellow, a Perry World House Student Fellow, a Robeson Cooper Scholar, and a Benjamin Franklin Scholar. She is an editor for the Penn History Review. She is also a Benjamin Franklin Scholar Peer Mentor and a Research Peer Advisor for the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships.

Read the entire story at https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/penn-junior-named-2021-beinecke-scholar