For young children, conversation is a powerful catalyst of emotional intelligence, self-expression and curiosity. However, children from lower-income families often have fewer opportunities for sustained, open-ended dialogue, and that gap is contributing to wider educational inequality. For senior sociology major Raphael Cohen-Shippee, this boiled down to a problem that required a closer eye and a creative solution. So he came up with one: a talking owl named Vozzy.

At the first annual Ideas & Impact Challenge, hosted by the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute, Cohen-Shippee won the grand prize in the Innovative Ideas category (as well as first place in the undergrad track) with his pitch for VozzyWorld, an educational online game and teaching tool.

“I’m very big on analyzing problems and finding the root cause of them; that’s what drew me to entrepreneurship," says Cohen-Shippee, who is also completing a Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management. “In studying sociology, I grew in my belief that education is key to fixing a lot of our problems, or at least a starting point.” 

Research indicates that open-ended dialogue is the strongest driver of cognitive growth in young children. Despite this, none of the leading educational applications are designed to be dialogic or open-ended. Cohen-Shippee saw an opening. 

“I interviewed teachers to understand what issues they faced with their students and what I needed to target,” says Cohen-Shippee. “A recurring theme was that kids who struggled with reading and writing would shut down when they needed to read or write.” 

Enter Vozzy the Owl. Voice detection software will allow users to speak directly to the AI-driven avatar. Vozzy’s responses will mimic interactions with adults, allowing users to select from various conversation styles, such as topic exploration or debate. Cohen-Shippee concluded his pitch with the hope that VozzyWorld will “utilize AI to level the playing field for low-income children.”

Over his time at Temple, Cohen-Shippee has developed a knack for turning ideas into actions. He traces that impulse back to a pivotal conversation he had with Professor of Sociology Matt Wray.

“In the spring of my sophomore year, I was worried I wasn’t doing enough—I wasn’t taking advantage of my time and resources at Temple,” he recalls. “I had a conversation with [Wray], and I said, ‘I want to get involved; what do I do?’”

Wray’s first suggestion was to join SUMMA, the undergraduate sociology association. Cohen-Shippee entered his senior year as the club’s president, focusing his efforts on increasing membership, coordinating professional development events and building camaraderie within the department. “Sociology is a relatively small major, so the idea is creating a community,” he explains.  

After spending a semester interning at Tree House Books, Cohen-Shippee wanted to share with fellow students what he had learned in his own, admittedly lengthy, internship search. In the fall of 2024, he began working as a Career Peer Advisor at the Joyce K. Salzberg Center. He credits experiences like these with helping to shape him into the self-assured public speaker that took the stage at the Ideas & Impact Challenge, and with focusing his foremost professional ambition: helping people. 

“So many opportunities were presented to me through Temple,” says Cohen-Shippee. “It’s not to say I wouldn’t have figured it out on my own, but it helped led me to each next step along the way, and made me feel very ready and supported going toward the future.” 

Upon graduating in December, Cohen-Shippee will work as a Student Success Coach for City Year Philadelphia, assisting in local classrooms. This summer, he begins as a Teach For America Corps Member in Washington, DC. He plans to pursue a master’s degree and continue developing VozzyWorld for eventual release. Whether his career journey finds him in teaching or in business, he hopes to always be working toward brighter outcomes for educators and their students.

“So many things out there can be depressing or unmotivating, but education feels like hope,” says Cohen-Shippee, “and it creates hope for everything when we do a good job educating future generations.”

You can watch the entire Ideas & Impact Challenge event, including Raphael’s pitch, here.