Cornell Student Wins Grant for STEM Prison Program
The $25,000 Women of Worth award supports a student-led initiative providing robotics and coding courses to incarcerated teens.
Updated on Oct. 29, 2026 in Scholarships
Live Poll
Do you believe nonprofit educational programs are the best way to improve outcomes for incarcerated youth?
Cornell University student Emily Cho has been named a 2026 Women of Worth honoree by L'Oréal Paris USA for her work with Juvie for STEM. The nonprofit, which provides educational workshops to incarcerated youth, will receive a $25,000 grant as part of the award.
Why it matters
The recognition highlights how students can leverage collegiate resources to address critical gaps in educational access for marginalized populations. The grant funding enables the expansion of programs that bring complex STEM curriculum into juvenile justice systems.
The $25,000 grant is awarded to one of 10 honorees by L'Oréal Paris USA. The nonprofit currently serves 20,000 incarcerated teens across 36 facilities using a network of 7,000 volunteers.
The players
Emily Cho
The founder of Juvie for STEM and a current student at Cornell University.
L'Oréal Paris USA
The corporate entity that manages the Women of Worth award program and provides grants to social entrepreneurs.
Juvie for STEM
A nonprofit organization that provides educational workshops in coding, robotics, and astrophysics to incarcerated teens.
The details
Juvie for STEM provides workshops in coding, data analysis, astrophysics, and robotics directly to incarcerated youth. The organization formalized its operations after local businesses began supporting Emily Cho's initial tutoring efforts. Future plans for the nonprofit include developing data software to better track student impact and trajectory.
Timeline
2019: Emily Cho began tutoring adults in math at a prison.
2026: L'Oréal Paris USA named Emily Cho a Women of Worth honoree.
Education Landscape
This development aligns with broader trends in higher education regarding the expansion of prison education programs. It follows a pattern set by the First Step Act's vocational and educational programming requirements, which prioritize educational access for incarcerated individuals.
Students interested in launching nonprofits should monitor grant cycles from corporate social responsibility programs that support collegiate-led initiatives. Always consult with your university's legal or financial office before formalizing a tax-exempt organization to ensure compliance with student policies.
The takeaway
Student founders can scale impact by formalizing volunteer networks to meet organizational requirements for corporate grants. Consider documenting your extracurricular impact trajectory to prepare for similar funding opportunities in your field.
Further reading
For more on how students fund and scale social impact projects, explore our Scholarships section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Cornell University News Service.
Live Poll
Do you believe nonprofit educational programs are the best way to improve outcomes for incarcerated youth?
