Every year, thousands of high school students submit multiple college applications in pursuit of continuing their education. However, many students find themselves in a common dilemma of having college aspirations without the finances to make their dreams a reality.

Through hard work and determination, three recent graduates overcame these obstacles and are working toward achieving their dreams of attending college.

Seniors Deven Chan of Galileo Academy, Maritza Juarez Yoc of Balboa High School and Kimberly Ornelas, of City Arts and Technology High School, will receive the scholarships, which can provide up to $3,000 annually for up to four years for their college education. Scholarships are administered by The San Francisco Education Fund’s Maisin Scholars Award Program.

The Maisin Scholar Award Program was designed to identify and support students who are determined to achieve their academic goals beyond high school. The award helps San Francisco public students overcome the financial obstacles that stand in between them and their pursuits of higher education.

In addition to financial support, the Maisin scholars also have access to internship opportunities, peer support and academic and career counseling. The scholarships sponsored by SFPUC’s firm partners were available Bayview-Hunters Point high school seniors in the San Francisco Unified School District who will attend college or a vocational program in Fall 2019 and have between a 2.0 – 3.5 cumulative unweighted GPA. 75 additional scholarships were made available to local students through the Maisin Award Program. The next round of applications will open in the Fall.

The scholarships were broken into three categories:

• The Bayview Hunters Point STEM Scholarship supports students pursing a Science, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM) career.
• The Bayview Hunters Point Latino Scholarship will be awarded to students of Latino and Hispanic descent.
• The Dr. Espanola Jackson Scholarship was created to honor Dr. Jackson, a long-time civil rights and community advocate from Bayview-Hunters Point.

Juarez Yoc will receive the Dr. Espanola Jackson Scholarship. Along with sporting a 3.69 grade point average (GPA), Juarec Yoc co-founded a club at her high school to support undocumented students. Originally from Guatemala, she plans to major in mechanical engineering in college, likely at the University of California-Merced. She will be the first member of her family to attend college.

Ornelas took home the Bayview Hunters Point Latino Scholarship award. Outside of her studies, Ornelas is a passionate volunteer in her community, helping to tend to her neighborhood garden while teaching young children about cultivation and harvesting. Ornelas plans to pursue a degree in criminal justice at Sacramento State University and aspires to be a detective one day.

Chan will be awarded the Bayview Hunters Point STEM Scholarship. He has a 3.24 GPA was inspired to pursue mechanical engineering by taking part in the Social Engineering Project, an initiative to increase diversity in the STEM fields. He will major in mechanical engineering next year at San Francisco State University.

The Maisin Scholar Award Program​ is sponsored by the SFPUC and our social impact partners, Carollo Engineers and Water Resources Engineering, Inc. The sponsorships are in partnership through the SFPUC Social Impact Partnership Program, which invites private sector firm partners to give back locally to the communities in which they are performing work on behalf of the SFPUC. Through this program, firms partner with local schools and nonprofits to achieve equitable community outcomes in the areas of education, environmental justice and workforce and economic development. Through this innovative program, the SFPUC and its Social Impact Partners are helping to build healthy and thriving communities.