Announcing our 2021 Winners

It’s a five-way tie! For the first time in our 30-year history, The Sequoia Awards awarded five students its prestigious Outstanding Student Award. The award carries a scholarship of $16,000 per student.
The 2021 Outstanding Student Award winners are:
- Ashley Barraza-Cazares, Sequoia High School (sponsored by Nintendo of America)
- Janet Lara Alvarez, Sequoia High School (sponsored by the Pete & Paula Uccelli Foundation and the Welch-Everett Family Trust)
- Nataly Manzanero, Sequoia High School (sponsored by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative)
- Rohan Patel, Carlmont High School (sponsored by the Danford Fisher Hannig Foundation)
- Itzel Ramos, Everest Public High School (sponsored by the San Mateo Credit Union and Oracle USA, Inc.)
We also chose community volunteer and Redwood City Planning Commissioner Nancy Radcliffe as the Outstanding Individual for 2021.
“This was an unusual year to say the least,” said Sequoia Awards Board Chair Ellen Haas. “These students managed to find a way to make a significant positive impact on our community through volunteerism during a pandemic when the need for their service was never more critical, and the challenges of volunteering were never greater. These five students stepped up in a way that was truly extraordinary, and we simply could not recognize only one of them as our outstanding student of the year.”
A total of $214,000 was awarded to 24 students. The amounts ranged from $6,000 to $16,000. In addition to the five Outstanding Student Award winners, our 2021 scholarship winners are:
Hudson Acreman
Sequoia High School
Sponsored by the Redwood City Firefighters Association & the Redwood City Police Officers’ Association
Emilio Barajas-Navarrete
Everest Public High School
Sponsored by Hannig Law LLP
Asher Becker
Summit Preparatory High School
Sponsored by W.L. Butler
Simone Beilin
Carlmont High School
Sponsored by Merrill Lynch: A Bank of America Company & Stanford University
Noah Camerino
Carlmont High School
Sponsored by Greystar
Alejandra Cortez
Woodside High School
Sponsored by The Sobrato Organization
Alexa Gomez
Sacred Heart Preparatory
Sponsored by Sares Regis Group
Vanessa Gonzales
Sequoia High School
Sponsored by the Crittenden Family
Sonia Herrera Barriga
Sequoia High School
Sponsored by Black Mountain Properties, LLC
Kobe Ly
Woodside High School
Sponsored by Richard & Judith Imperiale (in memory of Jill Imperiale)
Gabrielle Melamed
Woodside High School
Sponsored by Lyngso Garden Materials & Recology of San Mateo County
Kimberly Miranda
Sequoia High School
Sponsored by Dostart Development
Chad Morrison
Junipero Serra High School
Sponsored by San Mateo County Sheriff’s Activities League (in memory of Pete Liebengood)
Mia Palacios
Sequoia High School
Sponsored by Facebook
Stephanie Robles Angel
Sequoia High School
Sponsored by Sequoia Hospital Dignity Health & the Franceschini Family
Melanie Sarmiento
Sequoia High School
Sponsored by DPR Construction & Kaiser Permanente
Sharon Song
Sequoia High School
Sponsored by Heritage Bank of Commerce & Windy Hill Property Ventures
Bianca Vail
Sequoia High School
Sponsored by BKF Engineers
Oscar Villa Cornejo
Sequoia High School
Alice W. Coghlan R.N. Scholarship
Sponsored by Frank and Liza Bizzarro & Steve and Diane Howard
Thanks to our sponsors and the many volunteers who make The Sequoia Awards possible!