San Francisco, CA — Mayor London N. Breed today celebrated this year’s Bridge to Excellence Scholarship recipients, her scholarship that provides financial support to highly-motivated graduating high school seniors from low-income and under-resourced communities. This year, 16 students representing nine different high schools were selected to receive $5,000 each over two years in scholarship awards. Since launching the Bridge to Excellence Scholarship in 2019, Mayor Breed has provided $312,500 in scholarship funding to 63 students.
All scholarship recipients will attend four-year colleges/universities, including the University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Davis, University of San Francisco, San Francisco State University, and the University of Southern California, among several others.
“I am incredibly proud of every one of this year’s scholarship recipients, but most importantly, they should be even more proud of themselves,” said Mayor Breed. “Earning my degrees changed my life, and I certainly would not be where I am without the doors that they opened for me. I have seen time and time again that when we give students the support they need to succeed, they can go on to do great things. Still, far too often the challenges that young people face when pursuing a higher education, especially when they are the first in their family to go to college, are overwhelming. This scholarship helps to ensure that every young San Franciscan has access to the same opportunities. I can’t wait to see what these future leaders achieve.”
To be eligible for the scholarship, applicants were required to be a San Francisco Unified School District high school senior graduating in spring 2022 with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.20. Additionally, applicants must have demonstrated a significant financial need and be the first in their families to attend a four-year college. This year, 56% of the recipients identify as female, and 80% identify as students of color. Funding for the scholarship comes from the generous sponsorship of philanthropic partners.
The Bridge to Excellence Scholarship is part of Mayor Breed’s comprehensive commitment to students and young people in San Francisco. On Monday, June 6, Mayor Breed kicked off her Opportunities for All Summer 2022 cohort programming at Chase Center, which will provide over 2,500 of San Francisco’s youth with paid internships throughout the summer months. For more on Opportunities for All, please visit here.