Allison Hess CC’25 is a senior studying biology and a recipient of the Inclusion & Advocacy award for her work supporting the disability community at Columbia. She has led Spoons, the Office of Multicultural Affairs’ disability justice community and advocacy group, for three years after joining in its inaugural year, and helping to establish disability justice as an area of programming. Additionally, Hess has served as a mentor in the Columbia Mentoring Initiative’s Disability Justice family tree and as a facilitator for Under1Roof and ROOTED, where she has led conversations on identity, community and belonging. Hess is deeply grateful to have been part of Columbia’s disability community, to have contributed to its growth over the past four years and for the experiences and friendships that helped her grow with it. She is committed to carrying forward the values of advocacy, community-building and mentorship in her future career as a physician-scientist.