2023 Scholarship Recipients

Ayrlron was born in the Philippines and came to California with his family at age nine. After high school, he initially enrolled in an aircraft mechanics program, but left to pursue his love of art. He is now studying product design at ArtCenter. Ayrlron’s hero is his older brother, who showed him that an artistic career is possible by becoming a successful graphic designer.

Azusa grew up in Richmond, CA and spent a decade learning design and building skills with Girls Garage before enrolling in the architecture program at Tulane. Azusa writes, “Knowing what I do right now, with hard-earned experience in building and design, I’m more determined than ever to lead in the future of design—not only because it’s necessary, but also because I have the strength to do it.”

Sky grew up in California, where the variety of architecture around them—from the muted, flat-roofed buildings of El Cajon to the modern skyscrapers of San Francisco—inspired them to “understand not just how [the buildings] were built but why and what history was behind them.” In addition to architecture, Sky studies computer science and Chinese. They dream of becoming a “polyglot licensed architect and programmer/game developer.”

Nayeli grew up in San Francisco. In high school, her piece “El Burro De Mi Abuelito” was selected for the SFUSD Arts Festival and was the main image for the festival posters, flyers, and bookmarks. She has also created graphic designs for several minority-owned businesses in the Bay Area. Nayeli writes, “My dream job would be any job where I can have a positive impact on the BIPOC community, whether it’s working with local businesses or [speaking about] important social justice issues through making art.”

Nathan grew up in the Outer Mission of San Francisco. He has worked in many artistic mediums including pencil sketching, oil painting, graphic design, 3D modeling, and animation. He also participated in a mural-making collective in the Mission. Nathan is looking forward to studying animation in college, and writes that his ultimate dream would be to “move to Japan and build my own animation studio there.”