Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai was only 15 when she survived an assassination attempt in Pakistan while advocating for young girls’ education.
Today, she is 21 studying at Oxford University and will be receiving 2018 Gleitsman Award at a ceremony Thursday at Harvard’s Kennedy School for her work promoting girls’ education. Along with the award, she will receive $125,000.
The young activist is no stranger to recognition. Yousafzai became the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for her dedication in the fight for equal education for young girls.
David Gergen, professor of public service at Harvard Kennedy School and director of the Center for Public Leadership spoke highly of Yousafzai in a statement posted on the Harvard Kennedy School website.
“Malala speaks powerfully to the strength and perseverance of women and girls who are oppressed. Her remarkable story has inspired girls—and boys as well—to follow in her footsteps and has activated a generation of practitioners and legislators who are fighting for equality in their own communities.”
The ceremony will include a conversation with Yousafzai on her work with Samantha Power, who is a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.