Pennsylvania youth honored as Prudential Emerging Visionaries

Sewickley and Downingtown students will receive $5,000 awards and invitations to the 2024 summit for their work addressing the challenges of a changing world.

NEWARK, N.J., Feb. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Sebastian Tan, 16, of Sewickley, and Yaduraj Choudhary, 17, of Downingtown, today were each named a 2024 Prudential Emerging Visionary for their inspiring commitment to improving the lives of others.

As two of 25 Prudential Emerging Visionary winners, Sebastian and Yaduraj will each receive a $5,000 award to help take their innovation to the next level. They are also invited on an all-expenses-paid trip to Prudential's headquarters in Newark, New Jersey, where they will be coached by Prudential employees and have the chance to meet other young leaders.

Prudential Emerging Visionaries recognizes young people ages 14-18 whose fresh perspectives and innovative solutions address pressing financial and societal challenges in their communities. The program's goals align with Prudential's purpose: to make lives better by solving the financial challenges of our changing world.

"I am inspired by the students' sense of purpose and commitment to driving positive change in their communities," said Chairman and CEO Charles Lowrey. "We're honored to support these young leaders as they bring their extraordinary projects to life."

During the summit, to be held April 20-23, five winners will also have the opportunity to present their solutions in a pitch-off, where a grand prize winner will be awarded an additional $10,000 in funding. What's more, Prudential employees will again vote to name an Employees' Choice Award winner, who will receive an additional $5,000.

Pennsylvania's 2024 Prudential Emerging Visionaries:

FINANCIAL PROJECTS CATEGORY

Sebastian Tan founded "OutsideConnection," an online job site that drives economic opportunity for previously incarcerated individuals by allowing them to search for open positions at businesses and make meaningful contributions to their local communities.

As a child, Sebastian grew up working at his family's bakery alongside a diverse group of employees, some of whom had previously been incarcerated. "Our reentrants have become more than just employees; they've become our family," he says. Sebastian's project is working to prevent recidivism by creating pathways to employment. "OutsideConnection" uses manual and artificial intelligence to collect and sort jobs, creating a searchable online marketplace for reentrants. Currently, the site hosts opportunities from more than 40 companies in 17 states.

SOCIETAL PROJECTS CATEGORY

Yaduraj Choudhary founded "3 Tiny Bones," an initiative working with policymakers to advance hearing health legislation and create safe spaces within schools to destigmatize hearing loss. Through policy advocacy and community organizing, Yaduraj's initiative is reaching thousands of young people with guidance on strengthening healthy hearing habits and advancing hearing inclusiveness.

In ninth grade, Yaduraj learned of the scale of hearing loss for young people globally. "After seeing a lack of action to tackle this serious problem in my community, I decided to start '3 Tiny Bones' with the aim of destigmatizing hearing loss and educating youth about healthy hearing," he says. Currently, "3 Tiny Bones" has established Safe Hearing Zones at six schools and has successfully advocated for bills in the Pennsylvania House and Senate for hearing loss education and funding.

Prudential Emerging Visionaries is sponsored by Prudential in collaboration with Ashoka, a leading organization in the social impact sector, with advisory support provided by the Financial Health Network, an authority on financial health and a longtime partner of The Prudential Foundation.

The program is an evolution of Prudential's Spirit of Community Awards, which honored more than 150,000 outstanding youth volunteers over 26 years.

To read about all of this year's Prudential Emerging Visionaries, visit prudential.com/emergingvisionaries.

About Prudential Financial
Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial wellness leader and premier active global investment manager, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Prudential's diverse and talented employees help to make lives better by creating financial opportunity for more people. Prudential's iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit news.prudential.com.

About Ashoka
Ashoka is the largest global network of leading social entrepreneurs ? individuals with new ideas to systemically address the world's biggest challenges and the entrepreneurial skill to transform those ideas into national, regional and global social impact. Over 40 years, Ashoka has supported more than 3,600 social entrepreneurs in 90 countries with solutions addressing society's most pressing issues. Ashoka's vision is a world in which Everyone is a Changemaker ? a society that responds quickly and effectively to challenges, and where each individual has the freedom, confidence and societal support to address any social problem. For more information, visit ashoka.org.

SOURCE The Prudential Insurance Company of America