Campus Compact is pleased to announce that Rishika Kartik, an undergraduate student in accessible design and biology at Brown University, has been awarded Campus Compact’s Student Leadership Award. The award recognizes undergraduate and graduate students who demonstrate inspiring leadership qualities through civic and community engagement.
Students who receive the award lead change on their campuses and in their communities and inspire their peers to do the same. Recipients of the Student Leadership Awards are selected on the basis of their leadership and community impact, their ability to overcome adversity, their commitment to learning and deep engagement with communities, and their support from campus and community partners.
"Rishika is not only the most accomplished undergraduate I've had the privilege to work with; she is also among the most visionary. In over 15 years of teaching, she is the single best communicator of disability-centered research and values I have ever met," said Sydney Skybetter, Director of the Brown Arts Institute at Brown University, in a letter supporting Kartik’s nomination for the award. "Rishika is exactly the kind of candidate the Student Leadership Award was built to recognize. She is a brilliant scholar, a remarkable leader, and one of the most effective young advocates for access I have ever encountered."
“Students and their ability to lead change on campus and in their communities is at the heart of Campus Compact’s mission,” said Bobbie Laur, Campus Compact president. “The outstanding students who receive the Campus Compact Student Leadership Award are serving in leadership roles, creating impactful programs, and collaborating with partners on and off campus to make meaningful change. We are honored to present them with this award.”
The Student Leadership Award is presented as part of Campus Compact's Impact Awards, which recognize shining examples of meaningful, impactful higher education civic and community engagement work. Rishika is one of four students to win the award nationwide. Other student winners include Roberto Garcia from Michigan State University, Hilary Ramirez Payamps from Miami Dade College, and Mykala Bledsoe from The George Washington University. Read more about the other awards and this year's recipients here.
The recipients of these awards will be recognized at Compact26, Campus Compact’s annual conference, which will be held in Chicago, Illinois, from March 16th-18th, 2026.