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Taylor Easter has been active in civic and political engagement and service to the community since before she was even old enough to vote. Now as her time at Widener comes to an end, her resume, connections and passion have all continued to grow. 

A double major in political science and sociology, Easter is the 2025 President’s Award recipient. 
One of the university’s highest honors, the President’s Award recognizes a graduating senior who has contributed the most to Chester campus life through scholarship and participation in extracurricular activities.

Easter’s list of contributions is impressive. Hailing from Wilmington, Delaware, she chose Widener after learning about the university’s Bonner Leaders program and attending a Widener Day as an incoming first-year student. 

“When I read about the Bonner program, I thought it was a really cool opportunity to get to work in the community and gain experience in the nonprofit sector,” said Easter. “I really liked learning about the different ways that you can get involved here, and that’s really what drew me to Widener more than anything else.”

Now, four years later, Easter’s involvement on campus has grown beyond Bonner to also include being a member of the honors program, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., serving as a pride mentor, resident assistant, C.R.E.W. Leader and working with the Center for Civic Engagement. 

Easter’s service wasn’t contained to on-campus opportunities. She built her professional resume with multiple internships, most recently with the Campus Vote Project as a national programming intern and previously with the Bonner Foundation, where she went from building session content to facilitating sessions on her own at national conferences. 

A main focus of her work both on and off campus was based in political engagement. During her first year at Widener, she was named political engagement coordinator in the Center for Civic Engagement. Her work on nonpartisan political education earned her national recognition as part of ALL IN’s 2023 Student Voting Honor Roll. 

She’s also volunteered around the city of Chester, helping to plan events like the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration, stepping in to coach youth soccer with Soccer for Success, and working as a high-impact tutor helping fourth graders in the Chester Upland School District. 

“I loved being able to have those opportunities and get out into the community,” she said. 

Of all of her achievements, she’s most proud of her work with the Bonner Foundation and AKA, helping to grow Widener’s chapter by serving as membership chair. 

All in all, Easter will cross the stage at Commencement receiving not just the President’s Award, but several other awards for academic excellence and service including the Howard A. Wiley Memorial Award, the Martin Goldstein Leadership Award, the William R. F. Phillips Prize, the William  R. F. Phillips and Joseph R. G. DeMarco Prize, and a certificate of honors in general education. 

When asked if she’ll run for office someday, Easter laughed. While becoming an elected official isn’t in her future plans, she does aim to follow in the footsteps of one of her many Widener mentors – Marina Barnett, associate professor and assistant provost for civic engagement.

 

“I don’t think I’ll run for office, but I think that I see myself working in a center for civic engagement. I’ve also been interested in teaching, so maybe someone like Dr. Barnett,” Easter said. “I didn’t realize how impactful [community engagement] would be until I got to Widener, and I really think that community engagement and civic engagement are really important experiences to have.” 

In the more immediate future, Easter will be enjoying time with her family and working before pursuing a graduate degree. No matter where her path takes her, she’s confident she’ll keep dedicating her time to service. 

“I still don’t know where I’ll be, but I know that I’ll be able to volunteer in the community because I’ve made those connections. I feel like no matter where I turn there will be someone - whether it’s Bonner or AKA – someone will be able to help, and I’ll have those connections.”

Her advice to future students is simple – keep an open mind and always be up for a new adventure. 
“Don’t think you’re not qualified to do something or you’re not able to do something. You might be tempted to say no to things, but if you feel even the smallest bit of ‘yes, I can do this’ then you should say yes.”

She continued, “The nice thing about Widener is that we’re small and we have that community, so when people say ‘hey, I think you would be good for this opportunity’ they really mean it. They’re not just saying it to say it. They’re saying it because they’ve noticed something in you, and they want you to be able to see that too.”