|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
This past 2025-26 scholarship awards cycle was a particularly busy and noteworthy one for many Tri-Valley organizations and nonprofits.
From the Pleasanton Community of Character Collaborative being able to award more students thanks to an increase in funding this year, to the Pedrozzi Foundation in Livermore celebrating 10 years of honoring elementary school students through its young scholars program, this academic year saw hundreds of kids and teens getting the recognition — and financial support — they need to continue in their educational journeys.
Here is a recap of the awardees who were announced over the past several months to the Pleasanton Weekly, DanvilleSanRamon.com and Livermore Vine.
Amador Valley Scholarships, Inc.
Amador Valley Scholarships, Inc., one of Pleasanton’s longest-standing scholarship nonprofits, awarded over $96,000 in combined scholarship awards to 36 high school graduates this past spring.
Students from across the Tri-Valley were recognized by a number of memorial scholarships as they get set to begin their next educational journeys in college.
The 2026 AVSI scholarship recipients this year included Amala Tina Andrews Alexius, Aritra Barua, Eleanor Bradford, Jonathan Cannon, Lillyana Caples, Aidan Cochrane, Arushi Godavarthi, Romtin Golabi, Ekaterina Gunina, Phillipa Haney, Joaquin Harder, Tommy Hekl, Regina Islas, Evan Johnson and Nathaniel Kelly.
Rounding out the list were Madeleine Labok, Ivonne Lee, Shmily Hoi Ying Lee, Aiden Li, Brady McFadden, Matteo Minnite, Vincent Montalvo, Catalina Ospina, Orion Patel, Aiden Perez, Tyler Russo, Joshua Salonga, Cooper Schuh, Laksh Sharma, Natasha So, Susan Swyers, Amelia Umentum, Aiden Versteeg, Jordan Walker, Danielle Yeh and Nathn Yu
Alan Hu Foundation
The Alan Hu Foundation, a Pleasanton-based mental health support nonprofit, handed out thousands of dollars in scholarships to young minds seeking to further their studies in mental health fields.
According to the nonprofit, the scholarship program was created in memory of Alan Hu and Sarah Rahman, two young people who lost their battles with mental illness.
Nayeli Barajas received the Las Positas College $2,000 superiority award while Caleb Chang won the $750 LPC meritorious award.
The winners of the $1,000 Superiority Award Scholarship were Atiqa Ghouse, Anna Kim, Cathy Chen, Akhil Venkatesh, Angelina Harris and Isabel Roy.
The $500 Meritorious Award Scholarship recipients were Mason Bona, Ayesha Gani, Haden Moe, Avery Fink, Kanoa Markel, Vihaan Dey, Tori Harrison, Sharanya Kesarla, Joshua Wu, Raya Casselman, Kennedy Coli and Megan Lemler.
Finally, the Alan Hu Foundation awarded Madison Cerf with the $250 Excellence Award Scholarship.
American Association of University Women
The Livermore-Pleasanton-Dublin branch of the American Association of University Women organization awarded four scholarships to “highly qualified students entering one of their final two years of college” this past year.
Each of the four Tri-Valley college students received $2,500, according to the organization.
The 2026 scholarship winners were Lai Kuen (Daisy) Chiang, Jordan Sheehan, Siddhi Shinde, and Erika Yu.
Assistance League of Amador Valley
The Assistance League of Amador Valley awarded eight scholarships to students throughout the Tri-Valley.
Four high school graduates each received $5,000 as part of the Assistance League of Amador Valley Scholarship while the other four received $2,000 each as part of the Tri-Valley Community Scholarship. Each of the scholarships are meant to help cover the cost of tuition, books and supplies.
The four winners of the $5,000 award were Jack Badger, Kaushik Chandolu, Joaquin Harder and Isabel Roy
The other four winners of the $2,000 award were Josue Bonilla, Logan Farmer, Sebastian Martinez and Briahna Silvestre.
Bay East REALTORS Foundation
The Bay East Association of REALTORS Foundation, a nonprofit which annually donates to support education and charity work in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, awarded a total of $28,000 to 14 East Bay students pursuing higher education in the 2026-27 school year.
The 2026 scholarship recipients were Edwin Chen, Kristin Francisco, Alexander Guzman, Britney Huang, Junxuang Huang, Tajane Joyner, Anthony Le, Thania Duran Murillo, Emily Ng, Zanariha Phillips, Yma Santos, Amelia Vo, Ethan Wu and Mary Reddy Yeruva.
California Retired Teachers Association
The Tri-Valley chapter of the California Retired Teachers Association awarded three Tri-Valley students with its annual Retired Educators Scholarship, an award that supports local students who are pursuing careers as teachers or school counselors.
Each of the students received $2,500: Ekaterina Gunina of Dublin High School, Ashley Moore of Livermore High School and Mason Peters of Livermore High School.
Flyin Ryan Hawks Foundation
A nonprofit dedicated to honoring the life of a Vermont-based skier Ryan Hawks, who died in 2011 from injuries sustained in a ski event, recognized Pleasanton resident Aman Deshmukh with a $500 scholarship for his perseverance and advocacy work following the teen’s 2025 pole vaulting injury, which left him paralyzed.
The nonprofit foundation awarded Deshmukh with its Flyin Ryan Adventure Scholarship Program after the teen showcased his strong set of values, character and his determination to “continue living life to the fullest while giving back by raising awareness for sports safety, accessible design, and inclusive education.”
Neel Somani Young Innovators Scholarship
The San Ramon Valley Education Foundation, a Danville-based nonprofit organization dedicated to investing in the education of students throughout the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, congratulated Kanishk Krishna as the recipient of this year’s Neel Somani Young Innovators Scholarship.
The California High School graduate was recognized with the $2,000 award back in May for demonstrating “creativity, problem solving and leadership”.
Community of Character
Back in March, the Pleasanton Community of Character Collaborative announced the 14 Pleasanton high school seniors that the nonprofit selected as its 2026 Juanita Haugen Memorial Scholarship recipients.
According to the collaborative, the number of recipients went up this year due to increased funding. Each recipient walked home with $1,250.
Haugen Memorial Scholarship. (Image courtesy of the Pleasanton Community of Character Collaborative)
The scholarship recipients who were honored at an annual luncheon and fundraiser this past May 13 at the Veterans Memorial Building in Pleasanton were Advaith (Adi) Anand, Lucie Apard, Emilio Benard, Marielle Bernard, Kyle Farren-Bowen, Aashvi Geddam, Chloe Grijalva, Philippa Haney, Anna Star Kim, Diego Laredo, Marian McConlogue, Smriti Mehta, Andy Morales and Bruce Wyatt Wallace.
Rotary Club of Dublin
The Rotary Club of Dublin Foundation awarded $25,000 in various scholarships to students in Dublin, according to the organization.
This year’s scholarship awards, which recognized everything from students’ commitment to pursuing future education to their community service, include the following: the Dave Burton Memorial Scholarship, the Ted Hoffman Memorial Scholarship, the Chris Kinzel Memorial Scholarship, and eight Rotary Club of Dublin Foundation Scholarships.
Rotary Club of Pleasanton
The Rotary Club of Pleasanton’s Don Lewis “Say Yes to Music” Grant was awarded to four high school students who have demonstrated, through their playing, their passion for their respective instruments.
Three of these aspiring musicians received $1,000 each while the last one received $500. According to the rotary club, this award honors the life of longtime Pleasanton rotarian and world-renowned musician Don Lewis by helping the next generation of musicians advance their musical aspirations and education.
The winners are as follows: Celicia Thendean, a piano player from Amador Valley High School; Yufei Shen, a viola player from Foothill High School; Meghna Yamarthy, a violin player from Foothill; and Emily Wang, a piano player from Foothill.
Three Valleys Community Foundation
Back in May, the Three Valleys Community Foundation (3VCF) announced graduating Amador Valley High School senior Aarush Tahiliani as its 2026 David Yandell Living Legacy Service Scholarship recipient.
According to the Tri-Valley nonprofit, the annual $10,000 scholarship — which honors the career of David Yandell, a former longtime Amador teacher and counselor who currently lives in Livermore — was awarded to Tahiliani after the teen demonstrated his “leadership, integrity, and a deep commitment to serving both school and community”.
Veterans of Foreign Wars Essay Contest
While not a scholarship recipient, one eighth grade student in SRVUSD also recently celebrated earning first place in the 2025-26 Veterans of Foreign Wars Patriot’s Pen youth essay contest, which awarded the young student with a $5,000 check.
Andrew Ge was this year’s essay winner. The annual contest sees more than 800,000 contestants who are in grades six through eight enter for a chance to win money, according to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 75, a veteran’s nonprofit organization located in Danville which sponsors the contest.
2026 Pedrozzi Scholarship
One of the largest number of awards handed out by a single organization this year was by the Livermore-based Pedrozzi Foundation, which awarded over $500,000 in scholarships to 112 Livermore students this year.
This year marked a special milestone in the foundation’s history: awarding over 2,000 students since 2008, totaling over $7.5 million in scholarships.
This year’s 2026 Pedrozzi Scholars included Ella Abey, Emily Alvarez, Leslie Amaya Hernandez, Erik Arndt, Jack Badger, Susie Beamon, Addison Bertuccelli, Saket Bhanvadia, Parker Black, Daniel Booth, Madison Braswell, Emma Buban, Carlos Cabrera, Jacquelin Cardoso Zarate, Isabella Castaneda, Octavio Cerda-Mena, Vaidehi Chaudhari, Jasnain Chawla, Kennedy Coli, Cooper Cox, Caitlin Craighead and Daniela Cristobal-Salazar.
Also on the list were Alyssa Dankwardt, Catherine Dias Lourenco, Omar Doutriaux, Sanskriti Dubey, Nya Duncan, Daisy Elwood, Daniel Enrique, Pehnina Faataualofa, Gali Feigenbaum, Jacob Gaddi, Kailey Gandolfo, Matthew Gomes, Delaney Grijalva, Samaira Grover, Ayla Gruss, Aaliyah Guerrero, Saveta Holunga, Steven Hsueh, Aadya Huddar, Eduardo Ibarra, Elena Ibarra, Madison Ikeda, Inaaya Imran, Aryana Jamwal, Tejas Jaura, Grace Jeon, Megha Joby, Aayeshi Kalra, Eva Kaye, Dyllan Kinsella, Freyjaa Kirti, Isabella Kowal, Sheehan Krishna, Sarva Kumar, Celine Lam, Kortni Lawrence, Sujin Leek, Ena Lim, Su Hay Thi Lin, Zachary Lininger and Jenna Lundberg.
The awards further included Katharine Madsen, Nicholas Manausa, Roger Mazurczak, Leilah Mederos, Connor Mercer, Jennifer Muñoz Moreno, Ignatius Munzar, Vanadhi Muthukumar, Liliana Newkirk, Jackson Nystrom, Leonel Ordaz, Param Patel, Risha Patel, Angel Pepper, Jackson Perotti, Jesse Peterson, Brookelyn Petit, Anna Pham, Ward Piazza, Max Ponce, Navita Prabhakar, Jacob Pratte, Jonathan Ramirez, Mayuko Ramsell, Itzayana Reyna, Laura Riley, Victoria Roa and Isabel Roy.
And rounding out the recipients were Sofie Saini, Diya Saraf, Cailey Sasaki, Anderson Schwarer, Saanvi Sharma, Maile Silva, Briahna Silvestre Carrazco, Ava Taylor, Kaden Temores, Carolyn Tran, Reagan Vail, Arnav Vemula, Giselle Vera, Thelonious Vickroy, Amelia Vo, Marwa Wali Zada, Taino Williams Mesa, Bryce Willis, Ethan Wu, Justin Zipton and Federica Zoeller.
The foundation also celebrated its 10th year anniversary of presenting fifth graders with the Pedrozzi Young Scholars Program. The young scholars program aims to support these young students with the goal of having them become Pedrozzi Scholarship recipients in 2033.
The 2026 Pedrozzi Young Scholars are: Valeria Altran Hidalgo, Jayden Angelo Batara, Mauricio Delgadillo Ramos, Aylen Esther Garcia, August Jensen, Jaden Martinez, Lily Martinez, Abby Mata, Axel Milan Aleman, Damaris Ortiz, Natalia Renteria Nava, and Liliana Ruiz Ortiz.
Rotary Club of Livermore
The Rotary Club of Livermore awarded a total of $10,000 to 23 students in Livermore as part of its music scholarship program.
Funded by the rotary club’s Music Scholarship Fund, the scholarships — which ranged from $100 to $1,000 — were awarded to middle and high school students in Livermore who showcased their talents.
This year’s middle school winners were: Janine Adriano, Judah Benito, Makayla Ciarfaglio, Lily Ciarfaglio, Pransh Duara, Lyann Duong, Miranda Eng, Fatima Junaid, Maya Lange, and Reyna Yobeanto.
The high school winners were: Eugene Baker, Hazel Bonner, Jack Bonner, Kennedy Coli, Sophia Kim, Vinh Nguyen, An Nguyễn, Sue Yeon Park, Anderson Schwarer, Isabella Tao, Olivia van Buuren, Sierra Vidnovic, and Amber Yu.
