Three Cornell undergraduates are recipients of this year’s Robinson-Appel Humanitarian Awards, which recognize students for their commitment to community-engaged work addressing pressing social challenges. Frank Fang ’26, Jonathan Lam ’27 and Zilala Mamat ’26 will each receive $2,500 to support their projects.
This year’s awardees are partnering with groups both close to campus and far beyond — from Tompkins County residents to Southeast Asian and Uyghur diaspora populations — and are united by a shared commitment to connection, care and sustained engagement.
“The greatest challenge each year is narrowing the selection to just three recipients, because all applicants are clearly leveraging their education to make a meaningful impact on society beyond campus,” said Karen Yearwood, chief operating officer of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County and a member of the selection committee. “Our three winners rose to the top through the depth of their commitment and thoughtful approach.”
Mamat has spent several years leading advocacy efforts for the Uyghurs, a Turkic ethnic group facing prosecution in China and spread around the world in exile. “For me, the Uyghur genocide is more than a human rights injustice I feel must be advocated for; it’s my family, it’s my people, it’s my life,” said the government major in the College of Arts and Sciences. “I am working to one day see the face of my own grandparents again.”
In 2021, Mamat founded the nonprofit United Uyghur Youth (UUY) to help diasporic Uyghur youth connect with one another and their cultural heritage and has since expanded the organization internationally, offering youth workshops and cultural events across Europe, Australia and Turkey. She also co-founded Rawan Mentorship, which provides free college application support to Uyghur high school students living outside their homeland, and, as vice president of the Uyghur American Association, has engaged in advocacy with the United Nations and U.S. government. Award funds will help Mamat develop a public digital archive and online exhibition for UUY’s Kashgari Project, preserving rare cultural materials and oral histories from Uyghur diaspora communities around the world.
