2024-2025 HUHN AWARDS CENTRAL COAST REGION NOMINEES & RECIPIENTS

Mar 8, 2025

Congratulations to the Central Region Nominees for the CJSF Marian Huhn Awards for 2024-2025. Congratulations on your nominations! Photo left to right: Maya Manchester, Nikitha Shivraprasad, Isaac Zhang, Tina Phan, Dayeon Lee, Katherine Penzel, Avery Giotta. These nominees met at the Huhn Workshop on March 8, 2025, to compete for one of five Central Coast Huhn Recipient awards.
The 2024-2025 Recipients are Maya Manchester, Isaac Zhang, Tina Phan, Katherine Penzel, Avery Giotta.

Maya Manchester – Recipient
Chapter 668 Sequoia Middle School
Adviser Leilani Montoya
Principal Doughlas Corbin
Mt. Diablo School District

Nikitha Shivaprasad
Chapter 1085 Fallon Middle School
Adviser Shawna Healy
Principal Candice Baligaya
Dublin Unified School District

Isaac Zhang- Recipient
Chapter 1206 Creekside Middle School
Adviser Sally Yoo
Principal Susan Shih
Castro Valley Unified School District

Tina Phan – Recipient
Chapter 1206 Creekside Middle School
Adviser Sally Yoo
Principal Susan Shih
Castro Valley Unified School District

Dayeon Lee
Chapter 370 Pine Valley Middle School
Adviser Maria Ciriaco
Principal Sandy Kontillis
San Ramon Valley Unified School District

Katherine Penzel – Recipient
Chapter 1167 Moreland Middle School
Adviser Jill Davis
Principal Theresa Molinelli
Moreland School District

Avery Giotta – Recipient
Chapter 668 Sequoia Middle School
Adviser Leilani Montoya
Principal Doughlas Corbin
Mt. Diablo School District

2024-2025 DIGIOVANNA AWARD CENTRAL COAST RECIPIENT

Mar 3, 2025

Ayesha Sood
 Chapter 1137  Gale Ranch Middle School
 Adviser Gail Trenerry
Principal Jenny Torres
San Ramon Valley Unified School District

Ayesha Sood’s essay submission for the 2024-2025 DiGiovanna Memorial Award Essay Contest begins “Community service has been a huge part of me for as long as I can remember.”

Growing up in the Sikh community Ayesha was taught the concept of selfless service called Sewa in her community. Lifelong service to others brought her to CJSF and its emphasis on community service. “For me, CJSF is not just an extracurricular activity or something to put on my college application. It’s a way to put my values into action.”

Ayesha is a student and CJSF member at Gale Ranch Middle School where she participates in community service projects including passing out blankets to homeless people in San Francisco.

 

2024-2025 MICHELSON AWARD ESSAY CONTEST RECIPIENT – NADIA JONES

Feb 25, 2025

“Hello everyone! My name is Miss Nadia, I am in seventh grade, and my favorite color is purple.” These are the first words I ever spoke to the very first group of children I taught.”

Nadia’s essay about her long-term volunteer experience as a teacher’s assistant in musical theater classes was captivating. She made a difference to many children over those five years, and especially to one boy who was very uncomfortable socially. Her kindness and attention will remain with this boy, and many others throughout their lives.

Nadia is a senior at Hallmark Academy in Sanger, where she is a member of a newly started CSF chapter. Academic decathlon is among her favorite activities. She says “not to brag, but my team won the Division 5 National Championship, and I got first place individually.” And not unexpectedly, Nadia enjoys singing, reading, and creative writing. In the future, she plans on majoring in English and becoming either a high school English teacher or a family attorney. 

2025 Spring Conference & Awards Events

Feb 14, 2025

March 8 | Central Coast Conference & Awards Interviews/Workshop
All CSF/CJSF members, advisers and parents are welcome to attend, *please use link to register.
hosted by Dublin High School CSF Chapter 901cc
8151 Village Pkwy, Dublin, CA 94568 | Map
NOTE: Park in the lot on Brighton Drive. It’s closer to the Student Union.
*Central Coast Conference Details & Registration

Awards Activities Schedule- tentative schedule will be finalized week of February 17th*

  • Seymour Interview: 8am – 12pm* | Meet the Finalists
  • Huhn Workshop: 10am – 11pm | Meet the Huhn Nominees
  • Student Summit: 11am – 12pm only Huhn nominees
  • Lunch: 12pm – 1pm for all Seymour finalists, Huhn nominees, board members, and Di Giovanna recipients only*
  • Awards Ceremony: 1pm – 2pm including family and advisers* | Meet the DiGiovanna Recipient

*Seymour Finalists, Huhn nominees, and DiGiovanna recipients will be automatically registered for this conference & awards event including lunch, hosted by Dublin High School CSF Chapter 901cc.

March 15 | Central Awards Interviews & Ceremonies
The morning events are for Seymour Finalists, Huhn nominees, and DiGiovanna recipients only
Family and Advisers are invited to attend the Awards ceremony.
hosted by Sanger West High School CSF Chapter 1547c
1850 S Fowler Ave, Fresno, CA 93727 | Map

  • Seymour Interview: 8am – 12pm
  • Huhn Workshop: 10am – 11pm
  • Student Summit: 11am – 12pm only Huhn nominees
  • Lunch: 12pm – 1pm for all Seymour finalists, Huhn nominees, board members, and Di Giovanna recipients
  • Awards Ceremony: 1pm – 2pm including family and advisers | Meet the CSF Michelson Award Recipient

Seymour Finalists, Huhn nominees, and DiGiovanna recipients will be registered for this awards event including lunch, hosted by Sanger West High School CSF Chapter 1547c
Michelson Recipient will be registered for lunch and Awards ceremony.

March 22 | South Awards Interviews & Ceremonies
The morning events are for Seymour Finalists, Huhn nominees, and DiGiovanna recipients only
Family and Advisers are invited to attend the Awards ceremony.
hosted by Van Avery Prep CJSF Chapter 868js
29851 Santiago Rd, Temecula, CA 92592 | Map

  • Seymour Interview: 8am – 12pm
  • Huhn Workshop: 10am – 11pm
  • Student Summit: 11am – 12pm only Huhn nominees
  • Lunch: 12pm – 1pm for all Seymour finalists, Huhn nominees, board members, and Di Giovanna recipients
  • Awards Ceremony: 1pm – 2pm including family and advisers

Seymour Finalists, Huhn nominees, and DiGiovanna recipients will be registered for this event including lunch, hosted by Van Avery Prep CJSF Chapter 868s.

March 29 | South Central Awards Interviews & Ceremonies
The morning events are for Seymour Finalists, Huhn nominees, and DiGiovanna recipients only
Family and Advisers are invited to attend the Awards ceremony.
hosted by El Segundo High School Chapter 203sc
640 Main St, El Segundo, CA 90245 | Map

  • Seymour Interview: 8am – 12pm
  • Huhn Workshop: 10am – 11pm
  • Student Summit: 11am – 12pm only Huhn nominees
  • Lunch: 12pm – 1pm for all Seymour finalists, Huhn nominees, board members, and Di Giovanna recipients
  • Awards Ceremony: 1pm – 2pm including family and advisers

Seymour Finalists, Huhn nominees, and DiGiovanna recipients will be registered for this conference & awards event including lunch, hosted by El Segundo High School Chapter 203sc.

April 5 | North Conference & Awards Interviews/Workshop
All CSF/CJSF members, advisers and parents are welcome to attend, *please use link to register.
hosted by Bidwell Jr. High School CJSF Chapter 158jn
2376 North Ave, Chico, CA 95926 | Map
*North Conference Details & Registration

  • 8-8:30am: Check-in & Continental Breakfast
  • 8:30-9:25am: Opening Ceremony (welcome, intros, keynote speaker, zumba start-up)
  • 9:30-10:10am: Workshop Session #1
  • 10:15-10:55am: Workshop Session #2
  • 11:00-11:40am: Workshop Session #3
  • 11:45am-1:00pm: LUNCH
  • 1:00-1:40pm: Workshop Session #4
  • 1:45-2:45pm: Closing Ceremony & Awards – Huhn & Seymour Awards, Drawing, Thank Yous

Awards Activities Schedule*

  • Seymour Interview: 8am – 12pm
  • Huhn Workshop and Student Summit: 9:30am – 12pm
  • Lunch: 11:45pm – 1pm
  • Awards Ceremony: 1:45pm – 2:45pm including family and advisers

*Seymour Finalists, Huhn nominees, and DiGiovanna recipients will be automatically registered for this conference & awards event including lunch, hosted by Bidwell Junior High School CJSF Chapter 158jn

CSF Advisers Virtual Seymour Awards Workshop – January 16th at 5pm

Jan 8, 2025

CSF Advisers – Virtual Workshop – Awards
January 16, 2025 | 5-6pm
Focus: Award nominations, Membership Drives, Dues, New Advisers
Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/93876514650

Join members of the Seymour Committee and CSF Board to learn about the Seymour Awards, how to nominate one or two CSF Senior Sealbearers, tips on selecting nominees from your chapter as well as getting and organizing the required documentation.

No need to register, just join us at 5pm on January 13th.

Steps to nominate for the CJSF Huhn Award

Jan 4, 2025

Nominations open November 15th and are open through February 25th every year.
Note: The nomination form will be open until 6pm. Don’t wait until 5:59pm to hit the submit button, you risk losing out.

CJSF Advisers are encouraged to nominate one or two 7th or 8th grade CJSF members for the Marian Huhn Memorial Award.

Get started – Identify one or two 7th and 8th grade CJSF members you want to nominate and find out if they will be able to attend the Region Conference in the Spring. Check the Calendar for the dates. All nominees must attend your region conference and participate in the Huhn Award Workshop. Once you have established that they will be able to attend you can move forward collecting the materials needed for the nomination.

Nominee Requirements
Ask your nominees to provide these materials to you. Give them a due date enough in advance to allow yourself time to make the nomination deadline.

  1. Parent contact information including telephone, email and mailing address.
  2. Service & Awards (PDF or Word) – This is a single document (not limited to one page) with the following category headings. List items using bullet points. Include degree and length of involvement. Only list items that have occurred in 7th & 8th grade but include previous years if activity has continued into 7th & 8th (eg. played AYSO soccer from 3rd grade to present).
     – CJSF Service & Activities
     – Academic Awards & Activities
     – School Service & Activities
     – Community Service & Activities
  3. Nominee’s Personal Statement (PDF or Word) – One typed page double-spaced, signed by the nominee. The Personal Statement should give the selection committee insight into the nominee’s character, interests, hobbies, and goals for the future. Do not include photographs.
  4. Publicity Release form signed by a parent or guardian.

Adviser Requirements

  1. Write the CJSF Adviser Letter (PDF or Word) – One page letter signed by the advisor. This letter should help the committee to gain insight into the nominee’s intellectual and emotional maturity, reaction to criticism and disappointment, leadership capacity or organizational skills, sense of humor, integrity, concern for others, willingness to serve, and creativity. Support generalities with specific anecdotal evidence whenever possible. The committee will already be familiar with the nominee’s academic and activity records.
  2. Gather all of the nomination materials in a folder on your computer. The nomination form requires four files to be uploaded when completing the nomination form. Only Word and PDF files are acceptable.
    Name these files as follows:
     – Nominee Service & Awards: nominee_last_name-service | Example: tyler-service.pdf or Tyler-service.docx
     – Nominee Personal Statement: nominee_last_name-personal | Example: tyler-personal.pdf or Tyler-personal.docx
     – Nominee Adviser’s Letter of Recommendation: nominee_last_name-adviser | Example: tyler-adviser.pdf or Tyler-adviser.docx
     – Nominee Publicity Release Form: nominee_last_name-release | Example: tyler-release.pdf or Tyler-release.docx
  3. Complete the nomination form and upload the documents one at a time. Nomination form: https://csf-cjsf.org/cjsf-awards/
California Scholarship Federation
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