Every spring, our Earl Woods Scholar Program staff and committee have the honor of selecting the next cohort of students to bear the name of Earl Woods Scholar. While it’s one of the most rewarding and inspiring seasons of the year, it’s also an arduous task, narrowing down a pool of over 1,000 incredible applicants to a total of 45 lucky recipients. From Orange County and Boston, to New York and Washington, D.C., our staff spent nearly 25 hours interviewing candidates to identify high-potential students in need who demonstrate a commitment to community service–the hallmarks of an Earl Woods Scholar. After painstaking deliberation, a new class of truly impressive and ambitious individuals emerged.
“I’m thrilled to welcome our largest cohort to date! The selection process is always so difficult given the high caliber of students we interview–we had fantastic candidates from each region. What’s exciting to me about this class is that each of these scholars are very unique and will bring a distinct perspective to the group,” said Cristina Fernandez, senior director of the Earl Woods Scholar Program.
So without further ado, we introduce you to the 2017 cohort of Earl Woods Scholars. Congratulations to them all! We can’t wait to see where each of their unique college journeys lead!
Boston
Damaris Berrio — Suffolk University
Chase Joyner — Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
Chiamaka Obilo — Harvard University
Khanh Pham — Boston College
Natan Santos — Dartmouth College
District of Columbia
Frank Alvarado — Bates College
Longhui Gao — Lehigh University
Kenya Johnson — George Washington University
Abdul Kaba — Morehouse College
Jennifer Meza — Georgetown University
New York
Thalia Baeza Milan — Yale University
Lissette Barreto — Stony Brook University
Lewinski Lopez — St. Lawrence University
Miryam Ramirez — Swarthmore College
Kaycie Santiago — Fordham University
Orange County
Omar Camarillo — UCLA
Daniel Carranza — UCLA
Cristian Carrasco — UCLA
Joaquin Fernandez — UCLA
Lisseth Garcia — Colgate University
Andy Ho — UCLA
Sarai Michel — Barnard College
Ivy Phan — UC Berkeley
Esmeralda Solis — UCLA
Michelle To — UC San Diego
High School Juniors – Washington, D.C.
Nadia Bangura
D’onte Batts
Dominique Day
Javiera Galarce
Biyeshi Kumsa
Raia Lockerman
Ayinde Motirayo
Yohanne Ndoumbe
Breon Robinson
Kala Young
High School Juniors – Orange County
Santiago Alva
Luis Jimenez
Sammy Mohammed
Marycarmen Montanez
Karina Ramirez
Alexandra Retana
Rosanely Ruano
Milan Shrestha
Douglass Torres-Escobar
Jessica Villalobos
Redefining what it means to be a champion.
