Webb Scholars Program

KIPP King Collegiate High School

Iteoluwa “Tutu” Aladesanmi is a senior at KIPP King Collegiate High School and is excited to attend UC Davis next fall. Tutu’s love for research, analyzing, visualization, and presentation has led her toward a major in Data Science & Analytics. Aside from being an exceptional student, Tutu runs a non-profit organization alongside her peers that provides free tutoring and donations to immigrants like herself. She is also an Energy Convertor scholar, writing over five published articles about the increasing student behavioral problems at schools. Tutu also enjoys several hobbies, including graphic designing, video editing, and singing. She is an active member of her school’s leadership team, where she was promoted from a design associate to a secretary. In the future, she sees herself using data science to reduce the increasing dropout rate in low-income communities.

KIPP San Jose High School

Gursharan Bola is a senior at KIPP San Jose High School, planning on majoring in bioengineering and minoring in sociology. As a student from a low-income immigrant family, Gursharan hopes to find ways to make healthcare cheaper and more accessible. Gursharan also believes that science and society are deeply intertwined and thus aspires to make science and research more accessible and diverse. Outside of the classroom, Gursharan loves to turn small goals into impactful actions, whether he is improving his community through service projects at his local library and clinic or collaborating with his peers to write a newspaper article reviewing different flavored croutons. Gursharan is adventurous, highly competitive, and always willing to try new things.

KIPP San Jose Collegiate High School

Alfredo Hernandez is a graduating senior from KIPP San Jose Collegiate High School. His desire is to study government next year at Harvard University. He currently serves as vice president of the student body and president and founder of the KIPP San Jose Collegiate High School Democrats. Alfredo has tackled critical community challenges plaguing his school. Throughout his high school journey, he has worked in government offices, engaged in political campaigns, and collaborated with non-profits advocating for equitable political education. Alfredo firmly believes in the importance of youth advocacy for shaping society’s future, emphasizing our prime responsibility to address crucial issues. When given the mic, Alfredo has openly addressed political matters at both state and local levels, including charter school rhetoric and homelessness. He believes that there is a collective responsibility to come together and address critical issues through collaborative teamwork to make a significant impact and create real change.

KIPP King Collegiate High School

Emily Huang is a current senior at KIPP King Collegiate High School. She emphasizes the importance of healthcare. This is demonstrated when she joined numerous programs to learn more about physical and mental health. For example, she worked with UCSF Healthlinks; SFSU Stop AAPI Hate Youth Campaign, which focused on mental health and advocacy; American College of Cardiology to study the heart; and learned abnormal and clinical psychology at UC Berkeley. She volunteers and has a non-profit organization, Connecting for Education, alongside her healthcare endeavors. She helps young, low-income scholars learn by supplying them with backpacks filled with classroom materials. With her path to education, she is on the neuroscience and pre-med route, hoping to one day become a neurologist or pediatrician.

KIPP San Jose Collegiate

Like the lyrics of Grupo Clasificado’s song, Pensando, Fernanda Morales Soto often wonders “¿Cómo le hago pa cumplir yo lo soñado?” Graduating from KIPP San Jose Collegiate in July 2024, she’s determined to attain a Political Science degree and build a progressive career in politics. She strives to enhance her community and those with similar challenges. On campus, she’s Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica’s president—where she’s hosted SHH’s annual Pachanga with over 100 attendees and has created a new partnership with J4MW: The Bandana Project— meshing art with advocacy to amplify the voices of sexually harassed farm workers. She’s also a leader in KSJC’s Democratic club and has successfully collaborated with San Jose’s mayor to create an ordinance to uphold student safety. Off campus, she works in Pioneer Academics Alumni Leadership Team—helping to mentor youth through their rigorous research program and a developing musician she is currently learning ‘No Le Aflojo’ on her guitar.

KIPP King Collegiate High School

Johnny Peng is currently a senior at KIPP King Collegiate High School and will be headed to Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Fall. He’s heavily involved in his school’s STEM clubs. He serves as the engineering team lead and the architect of the 7245 LionBots, on the King Collegiate Robotics Team. The team competed in the 2024 FIRST Robotics Competition. Passionate about math, he also founded his school’s Math Club to prepare a team to represent KIPP King at the 2024 Stanford Math Tournament. Outside of campus, Johnny is also a social change entrepreneur; he founded Constillate, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing comprehensive tutoring services to immigrant and low-income students in grades 1–6. He aims to empower lifelong learners and bridge educational gaps by offering free academic support. He hopes to follow his innovative nature and pursue a career in aerospace/aeronautical engineering. Johnny hopes to tackle the problem of carbon emissions and innovate more accessible, justifiable, and efficient propulsion methods.