The Yale Basset Award for Community Engagement is bestowed by Yale University’s Center for the Study of Race, Indigeneity and Transnational Migration and is given to a select number of high school juniors who demonstrate a record of creative leadership and public service, academic distinction, interdisciplinary problem solving, and have experience in addressing societal issues that might include, but are not limited to, race and racism.
One of the 15 juniors of the class of 2020 from across the nation chosen this year to receive the award was Elena Izcalli Medina, 16, from High Tech High Chula Vista.
Medina said she found out about this award through a student of her father’s who attends Yale University, and since she was in the midst of applying for several scholarships at the time, she added this to her list.
Medina said that in her application she talked about projects she is actively involved in that contribute to her community.
“There was a 100 percent student-led ethics studies class started by three now-graduated students, they created that class and passed it down to me and the other leaders who are now taking on the class,” she said. “We create an environment that allows students to develop and use a critical lens to view the issues of the world around us. This creates a space to tackle those issues.”
Medina talked about her experience with the California Board of Education, she was a candidate this year to be a student representative.
“It captured my work with teachers and education, one of my big passions and something I strive to improve,” she said.
Working in the Young Legislatures Program offered by Assembly member Shirley Weber, Medina said, allowed her to explore legislation, provided her with the tools to learn how to break down complex issues and topics, and re-center with the people in your own community, connecting community with change making powers in government.
Medina was accepted into the Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Camp.
“I got to visit the Capitol,” she said. “I learned a lot about students of color, creating a community connection for me.”
On a second trip to Sacramento with the Board of Education Medina met several “great and inspiring individuals who are striving to make change.”
The award ceremony normally is held in the fall but has now been reset for spring 2021.
“I am just honored to get recognition from a high institution like Yale,” she said.
