Only five seniors in all of California are recognized for this Scholarship Federation award
PASO ROBLES — Paso Robles High School (PRHS) senior Kalani Gaviola received the Seymour Award from California Scholarship Federation (CSF). Only five seniors in all of California are recognized for this award, with almost every high school in California having a CSF program.
For this award, California is broken into five regions. Each region selects 10 finalists. Those finalists participate in a three-hour interview, culminating with five winners selected throughout the state, one in each region. Gaviola represents the Central Coast region of California, from the San Jose area to Ventura.
According to CSF, the Seymour Award is regarded as one of the highest scholastic honors given to high school students in the state of California. The Seymour Memorial Awards were established to honor both Charles F. Seymour and his devoted wife, Marian H. Seymour, who together supplied the inspiration and leadership which fostered the California Scholarship Federation. The very first award of $25 was presented to Seymour Award recipient Elizabeth Murphy (O’Neil) of Fresno High School in 1936. The five winners in California now receive a $5,000 scholarship.
For the past three years, Gaviola has been an active member of her Paso Robles CSF chapter, assisting with projects from riverbed cleanup days to club fairs and peer mentoring. However, her voice is most often heard through her school’s news magazine called Crimson, where she currently serves as the editor-in-chief for the second year. Her leadership has assisted in Crimson being recognized as the third-best high school news magazine in the nation, and she earned the Journalist of the Year award at PRHS last year.
Also on campus, Gaviola has been the ASB staff and student director for the past two years; where her proudest accomplishment has been bringing to her school and leading, for the past three years, the Culture Expo, a time of laughter, food, learning and acceptance of all student groups. Other leadership roles include serving as president of the Superintendent’s Council, a member of Rotary International: Interact Club, serving as both president (2023) and vice president (2024).
She is also a proud member and vice chair of the Mayor’s Youth Commission, which was recently highlighted for their role in creating a teen center in Paso Robles. Gaviola also finds time to run in both cross country and track and field for the past four years. Kalani has already been accepted to the UC Berkeley, UC Davis, and UC Irvine honors programs, but is still awaiting notification from UCLA, Yale, and Harvard before making her final college decision. She plans to major in either English or political science, with the eventual goal of becoming a lawyer.
“Kalani has demonstrated remarkable leadership skills, consistently planning and organizing events and effectively leading the team of students running these events,” Adviser Jenny Martinez said. “Her ability to not only come up with innovative ideas, but also execute them with precision and effectiveness is truly commendable. Kalani has shown exceptional organizational abilities, an innate talent for motivating her peers, and an unwavering commitment to the betterment of our school community.”
Feature Image: Paso Robles High senior Kalani Gaviola, Central Coast regional winner of the California Scholarship Federation’s Seymour Award, is active in PRHS’s CSF chapter and editor-in-chief of the school’s news magazine. Contributed Photo
