Penfield High School students Mellodi Flowers and Jadon Kane have been named as finalists for the 2026 Princeton Prize in Race Relations (PPRR).

Given by Princeton University, the award recognizes students who, through action and service, have demonstrated leadership in advancing racial equity or promoting racial understanding in their schools and communities.

At a ceremony to be held later this month, the regional PPRR committee will announce the winner for the Greater Rochester Region and honor each finalist with a Certificate of Recognition. Penfield is the only district in the region to have two students named as finalists.

A sophomore, Flowers is a two-year member of the Black Student Union (BSU), which aims to promote racial equity and comfortability in spaces where people of color are minorities. One of her goals is to start a club that educations and fosters appreciation for people of all races and cultures.

“As someone who is very passionate about striving for racial equity, this opportunity means the world to me,” Flowers said of the PPRR. “I can’t wait to see how everyone else strives for it as well.”

Kane is a junior at Penfield, and is active in BSU, Scouts of America, and Jack and Jill of America, Inc. He is also on the soccer and cross country teams. Additionally, he has served on the District’s DEI Committee, the Code of Conduct Committee, and Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council.

“It’s amazing that the work I have been doing is getting recognized and it means that I have actually had an impact within my school and District,” he said.

The recognition program was founded in the 2003 by Princeton alumnus Henry Von Kohorn ’66. Recognizing the need to support and encourage high school students committed to fostering positive race relations within their communities, the PPRR continues to expand on that vision, rooted in the notion that early encouragement, reward and support can motivate students to continue this critical work in college and beyond. 

Award winners receive $2,500, and an all-expenses-paid trip to the Symposium on Race at Princeton University, where recipients connect and learn with other students engaged in racial justice work and scholarship.