A GLIMPSE OF PAST TOP AWARDEES!

Sokhontheary Im
Student Leadership Award
John O’Connell High School
Born in a refugee camp in Cambodia, Sokhontheary Im is particularly attuned to and grateful for the opportunities available to her in the United States. Her sincere commitment to community involvement and the betterment of local communities is inspiring.  Sokhontheary has served as the president of her high school junior class, representatives of her school’s Youth Council, a mentor to freshmen students at her school, a commissioner for the Black Student Union
and the only non-African-American member of that organization.  She is heavily involved with her school’s Peer Resources Center, through which she creates and facilitates workshops on issues ranging in topic from drug use and healthy choices to social activism and the effects of media on self-esteem.  Additionally, she was an active member of Purple Sun -an organization that serves local youth in making healthy choices and developing skills as young entrepreneurs.

Nivia Brown
Achievement Award
Thurgood Marshall High School
Nivia’s passion for involvement in her local and global community, particularly for youth engagement in civic society is evident when she speaks about her vision of leadership. She is poised, eloquent with unmistakable strength and fervor of spirit.  Nivia is involved with her High School Site Council - working with school administrators on various school policy issues, including the allocation of the schools funds - PTSA, the Black Student Union and plays on the Volleyball team. Outside of school she has served on the San Francisco Youth Commission, working with the fellow students from different high schools in the city to impact school policy with regards to San Francisco youth involvement.  Nivia hopes to attend Columbia University to study journalism. She believes that now, more than ever, it is important to have ethical and responsible journalists in the field. She is soon to be a published author in a collection of essays produced by 826 Valencia.

Jeffery Kwong
Board of Governors Special Recognition Award
Lowell High School
Jeffery has a lengthy list of extracurricular community service activities which highlight his commitment to school and city affairs. Presently, he serves as the president of Lowell High School’s Forensic Society 00 winning awards since his freshman year for his talent in debate and public speaking.  He is also a member of the School Site Council, the Academic Decathlon and the California Scholarship Federation - through which he tutors in various subjects, including Chinese, Korean and Spanish.  One particularly impressive quality about this award winner is his multilingual talent. He is fluent in both Cantonese and Mandarin and is presently studying Spanish, Korean, and Japanese. Additionally, he works with Supervisor Aaron Peskin, translating documents and serving as an oral interpreter. His talent for languages will serve him well as he embarks on his journey towards becoming a Diplomat, representing the United States in East Asia.  This year, Jeffery was appointed to the San Francisco
Youth Commission, where he currently serves
as a representative for District 3. Last year he served the San Francisco Human Rights Commission.