Meet the 2024 Award Winners
Every year, hundreds of De Anza students earn well-deserved scholarships, commendations and awards – and we're proud of each one. On this webpage, you can read about some major award recipients for 2024.
Student Commencement Speaker
Read about Andrea Aviles Guzman, this year's commencement speaker and winner of the Karl S. Pister scholarship, on the 2024 Grad Speaker webpage.President's Award
The $3,500 President’s Award is presented annually to graduating students who have overcome adversity and shown perseverance in seeking an education at De Anza.
Megan Cheng
After losing her mother to cancer, Megan Cheng wants to help other families cope with the many hurdles and difficult decisions that come with major illness.
Megan, a President’s Award recipient, is graduating from De Anza with an associate degree for transfer in Psychology and will study psychology and social welfare at the University of California, Berkeley, this fall.
Megan was in high school when her mother died after declining conventional treatment for cancer, due to personal beliefs. Now 20, Megan said her struggle to understand her mother’s perspective left her wanting to know more about how mental health and support services can intersect with health care decisions and treatment.
“I want to help patients and families navigate the health care system, and help them deal with illnesses and everything that brings,” said Megan.
After graduating from Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, Megan came to De Anza for an affordable college education. She helped pay her way by working night shifts as a behavioral health technician at a San José mental health facility.
On campus, she joined Active Minds, a student club that sponsors activities like hikes and arts-and-crafts, where participants can practice self-care and speak freely about mental health issues. She was club president this year.
“Megan exemplifies the epitome of academic excellence, leadership and unwavering commitment to mental health and social welfare,” said Laura Chin, a political science instructor and club adviser.
Last year, with another club member, Megan conducted a research project on ways that students’ mental health can be affected by taking care of plants. The project won an award at a Foothill College research symposium.
This year, Megan was active in De Anza Student Government as vice chair of Student Rights and Equity. She was also a DASG representative to the college Equity Action Council.
Kevin Valencia
Kevin Valencia wasn’t planning to attend community college, but coming to De Anza turned out to be the right decision.
“I’m much better off after being at De Anza,” said Kevin, who is graduating with three associate degrees
– in Computer Science, Liberal Arts and Mathematics – and transferring to study computer science at UCLA.
Kevin, a President’s Award recipient, always thought he’d go to a university right after graduating from Homestead High School in Cupertino – and he felt devastated when all his applications were denied. But after doing some research, Kevin came to De Anza and found a welcoming community of students, instructors and mentors.
He felt “kind of lost in the beginning,” until he joined the First Year Experience program and, later, the Men of Color Community, where Valencia was thrilled to connect with other Latinx students.
Kevin also worked as a student ambassador in the Office of Outreach, sharing information about the college with new students and their families.
Applying a longtime interest in technology, Kevin joined the college CompTechS program, restoring donated computers for students who can’t afford new ones. He also landed an internship at Stanford University, after learning of the opportunity through the De Anza Developers’ Guild club.
During the internship, Kevin helped a professor doing research on sustainable building designs. The experience spurred his interest in applying computer science to solving environmental problems, which he hopes to pursue at UCLA and in grad school.
“Kevin is not only brilliant, kind and engaged; he’s deeply curious and creative,” said English instructor Jill Quigley, who taught Valencia through the FYE program.
Kevin said De Anza gave him opportunities to grow and find his own path. “I don’t think I’d be the person I am today if I’d gone somewhere else.”
Adriana Aguilar: DeHart Scholarship
The $2,000 A. Robert DeHart and Rena Frabony DeHart Memorial Scholarship honors De Anza’s founding president and is awarded for service to the college community.
Adriana Aguilar set her sights on becoming a nurse when she was a teenager, after watching nurses take care of her mother when she was ill.
“They were like superheroes,” said Adriana, 31, who is graduating this month with an associate degree in Registered Nursing and transferring to the nursing bachelor’s degree program at California State University, East Bay.
This year’s DeHart scholarship winner says she was inspired by the skill and kindness of the nurses she met while her mother endured health problems for several years. Adriana was also impressed by their compassion for her family.
“It’s more than just skills that are important,” she realized. “Nurses care for the patient and their family members, too. It’s a therapeutic connection that really makes a big difference.”
After graduating from Mountain View High School, Adriana enrolled at San José State but left school to help her family during her mother’s illness. Adriana went to work as a certified nurse assistant and later a medical assistant.
When COVID arrived, Adriana was assigned to a respiratory clinic and later volunteered in a vaccination clinic. The work was demanding, but she wasn’t deterred.
Adriana was accepted into De Anza’s Nursing program in 2022. “She excelled from the beginning,” recalled Rana Marinas, the program’s interim director and Adriana’s instructor in two classes. “This is a bright student!”
Though she stopped working last year to focus on her classes, Adriana is back on the job as a medical assistant. She’ll take the nurse’s license exam this summer. And her mother’s health has greatly improved.
When Adriana talks about the less glamorous side of her training, like inserting intravenous lines and catheters, some people seem puzzled, she said. “They’ll say, ‘What? You want to do that?’ And I’m like: ‘Yeah! I do!’”
You'll find more stories about outstanding students on the Awards and Achievements webpage.