In 1999, Dr. Daniel Koshland Jr., the son of our foundation’s founding chairman, established the Koshland Youth Leadership Awards (KYLA), a scholarship program that recognizes young leaders who balance extraordinary challenges, including family separation and homelessness, yet continue to show academic promise and community leadership.
To date, the awards have given nearly $1M to more than 100 young leaders to give them a jump start as they enter college. KYLA alumni, such as 2012 recipient Edith Melendez, have pursued college degrees and continue their community involvement. Melendez graduation from UC Davis in 2017 and now works as an Instructional Aid assisting recent immigrants. “I am absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to work and give back to my San Francisco international community,” she says.
Each year, the Koshland Young Leader Awards provide $10,000 each to up to 11 outstanding San Francisco public high school juniors from low-income families.
Nominations
The 2019 nomination process has ended. Please check this page in December 2019 for information regarding the 2020 awards program. If you have any questions, contact Amanda Katz at akatz[at]sff.org or (415) 733-8593.
2019 KYLA Winners
| Crystal Chan | Lowell High School |
| Osman Enriquez Samayoa | Mission High School |
| Aziza Ghanem | San Francisco International High School |
| Hanthlah Kassim | San Francisco International High School |
| Mansa Kuang | Lowell High School |
| Alex Ocampo | Mission High School |
| Karol Peña | San Francisco International High School |
| Javier Romero | Thurgood Marshall Academic High School |
| Nicole Salazar Ramos | Mission High School |
| James Sevilla | San Francisco International High School |
| Ashley Soto | June Jordan School for Equity |