THE STUDENT LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
Photo: James LilleyThe Margaret O' Donnell Student Leadership Program gives merit based scholarships each year to roughly 16 high school juniors who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in school and in the community. The Student Leadership Program is designed to encourage these promising students to continue to develop and apply their diverse leadership talents in ways that make the greatest difference. What they achieve as a result is impressive and inspiring. The Student Leadership Program has been a valued tradition from the City Club's beginning. Club members are a diverse group of leaders in business, law, charitable organizations, the arts and many other professions. Many members are active in civic and community affairs. The Student Leadership Program was founded on the value Club members place on leadership excellence.
The Margaret O'Donnell Student Leadership Awards are funded by member, private and corporate donations. Each award nominee receives a minimum of $1,000 and competes for the City Club's top scholarship awards, ranging from $6,000 - $20,000. Students are nominated by their principals, teachers and staff.
Photo: James Lilley
School of the Arts.
Photo: James Lilley
Chair, Student Leadership
Scholarship Committee
Crystal Lee,
First Place Scholarship Winner
School of the Arts
Allen Martin,
KPIX CBS Channel 5
News Anchor and Reporter,
Event Emcee
City Club Student Leaders receive support through periodic events designed for continued leadership development; college and career advice; and valuable networking/relationship building. These events provide students with the opportunity to gather information and ideas from City Club members, Leadership Award alumni, and peer leaders.
Award Categories
- Student Leadership Award - $1,000
- City Club Award - $1,500. for 4 years ($6,000.)
- Special Achievement Award - $2,500. for 4 years ($10,000.)
- Margaret O'Donnell Student Leadership Award - $5.000. for 4 years ($20,000.)
- Margaret O'Donnell Recipient's School Award - $1,000 to the Awardees' School
High School Participation
- Abraham Lincoln High School
- Balboa High School
- Downtown High School
- Galileo Academy
- George Washington High School
- Ida B. Wells High School
- International Studies Academy
- John O'Connell High School
- June Jordan School for Equity
- Leadership High School
- Lowell High School
- Mission High School
- Phillip and Sala Burton High School
- School of the Arts
- Raoul Wallenberg High School
- Thurgood Marshall High School
The 2008 City Club Student Leadership Awards
The Founders of The City Club established the Student Leadership Awards Program to recognize, provide scholarships and create important relationships for outstanding student leaders from San Francisco's public high schools.This program is unique in that it:
1.) Reaches students — recommended by their schools — who are already displaying significant leadership abilities regardless of their financial situation or social situation.
2.) links leadership success to creating higher educational opportunities
3.) creates for the students a whole new network of interested, supportive professionals across a wide variety of professions in the Bay Area
In addition to the annual contributions made by City Club members to fund student scholarships, this year eight City Club members generously underwrote specific scholarships.
On April 24th the City Club held the standing room only Student Leadership Awards Ceremony attended by students, friends, families, teachers, counselors, principals and Club members. Allen Martin, reporter and anchor from KPIX CBS 5 News, served as emcee and Associate Superintendent of School Operations and Instructional Support, Jeannie Pon, addressed the audience. Fourteen juniors from San Francisco public high schools were nominated by their principals for the City Club's Student Leadership Awards. Each student was awarded a minimum $1,000 City Club Student Leadership Scholarship funded by our members and $1,000 contributions made by Muriel W. Adcock, Linda de Mello and George Schofield, David Jamison for Balboa High School, Jennifer Raike and David Waterman.
Three students were selected for four year scholarships. The first place Margaret O'Donnell Student Leadership Award of $20,000 was generously funded by Ambassador James Hormel and awarded to Crystal Lee from School of the Arts. Allen Martin's interview of Crystal was featured on the KPIX CBS 5 evening news. The Special Achievement Award for $10,000 funded by Richard P. Essey and TemPositions was awarded to Carlos Cheung from Mission High School. The City Club Award for $6,000 was funded by the City Club Management in tribute to Cleopatra Vaughns and awarded to Deonna Frierson from Abraham Lincoln High School. Congratulations to all our 2008 scholarship winners!
City Club members can be exceedingly proud of the legacy of leadership that the Student Leadership Scholarship Program provides for our community.
The City Club of San Francisco, 155 Sansome Street, San Francisco, Ca, 94104 415.362.2480 (P) 415.362.0965 (F) ContactUs@cityclubsf.com

