Penn Reading Project

Sarah Gronningsater

Sarah Gronningsater is an associate professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, where she teaches courses on the history of American law, US democracy, the American Revolution, African American politics, and the sport of baseball. Her first book, The Rising Generation: Gradual Abolition, Black Legal Culture, and the Making of National Freedom (Penn Press, 2024) recently won the James Rawley Award for best book on U.S. race relations from the Organization of American Historians, an honorable mention for Best First Book from the same organization, and the Best First Book Prize from the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic. She is also the recipient of numerous teaching awards at Penn, including the Dean’s Award for distinguished teaching by an assistant professor. She is a graduate of Harvard, Oxford, and the University of Chicago. 

Ayana Chari C’28

Ayana Chari is a sophomore in the College, originally from New York City. She is undecided in her major and has interests in politics, data science, and history. At Penn, Ayana is a fellow for the Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies, working to analyze election data and digital political advertising in the United States. Ayana is a General Assignments Editor for The Daily Pennsylvanian’s news department, and serves as a reporter, primarily covering national politics and the University’s central administration. She is also a member of Penn’s chapter of the Chi Omega sorority.

Adhwaith Neralla W’25

Adhwaith Neralla is a private equity analyst at I Squared Capital, a global infrastructure investor. In 2025, he graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in Economics and a minor in History. On campus, he was on the Kite and Key Society board and was a member of the Wharton Investment and Trading Group and Wharton Impact Venture Associates. Originally from Singapore, he served for two years in the Bomb Disposal Unit of the Singapore Armed Forces before coming to Penn.

Sarah Oburu C’25

Sarah Oburu is a first-year Master of Public Administration submatriculant student at the Fels Institute of Government. She recently graduated from the University of Pennsylvania College of Arts and Sciences where she pursued her undergraduate studies in Philosophy, Politics and Economics with a concentration in Public Policy and Governance and a minor between the College and Wharton Business School in Legal Studies & History. As an undergraduate, she was involved in various campus activities from student government to Penn Band. She did both Penn Abroad in London at Queen Mary and a semester in DC through Penn in Washington. She is interested in public service, law, servant leadership, marketing, and analytics. She bleeds the Red & Blue and is proud to be a Quaker alumna! 

Ethan Young C’27

Ethan Young is a junior in the College, studying Political Science and History. He is originally from Philadelphia and is a fellow in the SNF Paideia Program. At Penn, Ethan is the News Editor at The Daily Pennsylvanian, working with a team of editors and reporters to produce the paper’s digital and print news content. He also serves as a traveling team photographer for the Penn Men’s Basketball Team and teaches photography to students at West Philadelphia High School through the Netter Center.