Students from the Tustin and Irvine unified school districts are among 500 Gen Zers from 27 states selected for the inaugural Carnegie Young Leaders for Civic Preparedness fellowship.
The program, created by the Institute for Citizens & Scholars and funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York, provides high school and college-aged students with training, mentorship and up to $7,500 per team to carry out projects that strengthen civic engagement in their communities.
Beckman High School junior Emily Hsia of the Tustin Unified School District served as team lead for a project called Canvas the Vote, which engages young people in art, writing and storytelling as tools to encourage civic participation. Her teammate Angela Li, also a Tustin student, said the group aimed to make civic learning more interactive by blending voter education with creative expression.
“Most of the time, I know students don’t want to hear, like, boring facts or sit through workshops, so we try to do art fairs and events and partnering with lyric magazines for contests,” Angela said in a statement shared by the Institute for Citizens & Scholars. “I think this way, people have incentive to go and come to our events.”
While Hsia and Li are based in Tustin, other members of their team attend schools in different locations, including outside of California.
Another Tustin Unified team, made up of Beckman High School juniors Nimeesha Komatireddy, Serena Chan, Sarah Chan, Angeline Doan and Kirana Lai, was recognized for its project Second Pulse. Dedicated to improving healthcare access and education for first-generation immigrant families, the initiative offers multilingual resources, health literacy workshops and culturally sensitive support.
“Leading the creation of Second Pulse has been one of the most transformative experiences of my life,” Komatireddy said. “Our team devoted countless hours to building a club that goes beyond words on paper, actively empowering first-generation immigrant families in our community. Along the way, we discovered how deeply cultural and language barriers impact access to care — and how even small steps, like sharing resources, hosting discussions and volunteering, can ripple into meaningful change.”
In the Irvine Unified School District, students from Portola High School and Northwood High School collaborated on a project called Your Vote, Your Voice. Led by Portola student Giselle Cartagena, the team designed free workshops on voting rights, local government and advocacy to make civic learning more accessible to young people.
The Carnegie Young Leaders fellowship runs through the 2025-26 school year and includes leadership workshops, networking opportunities and a capstone project.
Here are the other stories we’ve been following this week:
- All 4-year-olds in California are now eligible for free transitional kindergarten, marking the full rollout of the state’s expanded TK program that emphasizes hands-on learning, social development and school readiness.
- OCDE’s third annual School-Based Mental Health Summit brought together more than 400 counselors, psychologists and other professionals to prepare for the year ahead, focusing on student wellness, evidence-based strategies and collaboration as essential components of educational success.
- OCDE Newsroom has compiled first-day photos and celebrations from local districts and charter schools, highlighting the festive start to the 2025-26 school year across Orange County.
- The Fender Play Foundation, in partnership with Orange County Music & Dance, Arts Orange County and OCDE, will host a free songwriting workshop for high school students on Sept. 20 in Irvine, offering hands-on instruction in guitar, bass, ukulele and songwriting, culminating in original student recordings.
- At OC Pathways’ Student Leadership Day, more than 90 high school students from 15 Orange County districts led and attended peer-driven workshops on career readiness, networking and emerging technologies to build skills and connections for future college and career success.
- Students across the Newport-Mesa, Capistrano and Irvine unified school districts returned to class Aug. 18 and 19, marking the start of the 2025-26 school year with photos, reunions and first-day greetings on campuses from Costa Mesa to San Clemente.
- School districts across Orange County are updating protocols, training staff and offering resources such as lockdown procedures, Know Your Rights information and virtual learning options to support families and prepare for possible immigration enforcement activity near school campuses, according to the Voice of OC.
- The Laguna Beach Unified School District has completed a $1.165-million renovation of Guyer Field at Laguna Beach High School, installing a new turf track and field with environmentally friendly materials ahead of the fall sports season.
- The family of 15-year-old Allison Castillo, a Newport Harbor High student enrolled in a county education program to accommodate her competitive soccer schedule, is grieving her death following a fatal stabbing on Aug. 9 and is raising funds to cover funeral expenses.
- Experts say California can address teacher shortages by expanding paid residency programs, increasing financial support for student teachers and improving recruitment of educators from diverse backgrounds, according to the LAist.
- A father was briefly detained by immigration agents near a Garden Grove elementary school on Aug. 19 after dropping off his child, prompting a temporary “secure building” alert on campus and the deployment of crisis response resources, according to an Orange County Register report.
- The Garden Grove City Council has voted to ban outdoor alcohol advertisements within 500 feet of schools, parks and other youth-centered sites, aiming to reduce underage exposure to alcohol marketing.
- California aims to cut its chronic absenteeism rate in half over the next five years, with new state guidance and legislation supporting holistic strategies to boost student attendance and address barriers such as health concerns, basic needs and immigration-related fears, according to an EdSource report.
This is the part where we encourage you to keep up with local education news stories by bookmarking the OCDE Newsroom, subscribing for emailed updates and following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.