November 03, 2021
Linda Blaser
Hawi Odhiambo ’25 honored among 100 future global leaders
Hawi Odhiambo ’25 was named among 100 Global Winners for RISE, a new initiative that finds brilliant people who need opportunity and supports them for life as they work to serve others.
The 100 Global Winners selected from 50,000 high school-aged applicants, 15- to 17-years-old, will receive access to a lifetime of benefits incluing scholarships, mentorship, career development opportunities, and funding for future ventures that serve a public benefit.
Odhiambo earned the award for her project to empower Kenyan farmers in semi-arid areas to adopt aquaponics, a sustainable farming practice in which farmed fish supply nutrients for plants to grow in water. In turn, the plants oxegynate the water for the fish to thrive.
“I am still going through a phase of shock,” Odhiambo said about learning of the global award. “Throughout these eight months of answering RISE questions and researching my project, I have been hit with multiple waves of doubt. At the same time, I was sitting my final high school exams and applying to colleges around the world. To be named a RISE Global Winner has allowed me to finally see some of the seeds I had planted being harvested ripe. It has been satisfying and mind-blowing.”
Odhiambo chose to study at Lake Forest College for its liberal arts curriculum and the opportunity “to delve into subjects I enjoy such as environmental sciences and Chinese as well as test the waters on what I would want my undergraduate education to look like,” she said.
As a Forester, Odhiambo appreciates that she has “access to the nature that surrounds the College but also great internship opportunities in downtown Chicago. The amount of extracurricular activities the school offers also allows me to meet people from all over the world and engage in debating discussions and also learn from them,” she said.
RISE is the anchor program of a $1 billion philanthropic commitment by Eric and Wendy Schmidt to find and support global talent. Schmidt Futures, in partnership with The Rhodes Trust, announced the inaugural cohort of Rise Global Winners on October 25.
“It is imperative that we equip a new generation of leaders with the support and resources to address the growing complexities of our world throughout their lives,” said Eric Schmidt, co-founder of Schmidt Futures. “Today’s RISE Global Winners have offered us a glimpse into what brilliance looks like, and I am confident that our future is in very good hands.”
“Together, they will be positioned to help create a healthier, safer, and more humane world,” said Wendy Schmidt, co-founder of Schmidt Futures. “The 100 young people we’re introducing today are truly remarkable in what they’ve brought to their communities even before graduating from high school.”
Winners were selected after a rigorous application process which included peer and expert review of applicants’ social change projects, formal assessments of brilliance, and group interviews with candidates from over 170 countries submitting their entries through a variety of platforms. The initial 100 Global Winners will lay the foundation for a global community of rising leaders who will receive access to benefits that last a lifetime as they work to serve others.
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