Major Student Awards

Meet the 2025 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 2025.

President's Award Recipients

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.

Jennifer Mejia Llamas

Jennifer Mejia Llamas is heading for UCLA this fall with two associate degrees under her belt and a long-term goal of getting a master’s degree in public policy. She wants to work in local government and help address the need for affordable housing and related issues.

The 20-year-old President’s Award recipient knows what it’s like to worry about housing. She moved a lot when she was a child, and had to help translate important documents for her Spanish-speaking parents.

“I remember how stressed I was, and I know there are so many other people who are experiencing much worse,” she said.

A first-generation college student, Mejia came to De Anza to save money. She credits her counselor and instructors with helping her decide what to do next. “I always had these passions to address social issues,” she said, “but I didn’t realize what I could do with them.”

First Year Experience counselor Jorge Morales helped Mejia learn about careers and choose classes to match her interests. Political Science instructor Jim Nguyen encouraged her to get involved in community affairs, while Political Science instructor Robert Stockwell showed her that it’s OK to seek help and ask questions in class.

During her time in college, Mejia worked with an immigrant rights project  at the nonprofit Sacred Heart Community Service, which helps undocumented senior citizens with housing issues. She was an intern for San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, conducted community outreach for U.S. Rep. Sam Liccardo’s election campaign and worked as a youth program leader for the YMCA of Silicon Valley. On campus, she’s been a peer mentor for the FYE program.

“Jennifer is fiercely committed to social justice and service to others … someone who believes in the power of humans to better our conditions and to advance the interests of our communities,” Stockwell said. “We need more like her.”

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Kathryn Cooke

Kathryn Cooke wasn’t always interested in cars, but she likes doing puzzles, solving problems and figuring out how things work.

The 36-year-old military veteran and single mom is one of two recipients of this year’s President’s Award. She’s graduating with an associate degree in Automotive Technology and has been accepted into De Anza’s new bachelor’s degree program in Automotive Technology Management – designed for students who want to advance into management of an automotive business.

“It’s a dream of mine to be able to educate customers, especially women, so they feel like they know what they’re getting and don’t have to worry about spending money with someone they don’t trust,” Cooke said.

“Without a doubt, she’d be good at her dream,” said Auto Tech chair Dave Capitolo, who said Cooke has been “a great student” and a leader who looks out for her classmates.

Cooke tried college once before, after high school, but left to pursue a military career. Although she wanted to train as a police officer, she was assigned to a U.S. Army mechanics school and decided, “OK. I’ll do my best and get through it.”

After 13 years in the Army National Guard, Cooke was stationed in the Bay Area when she heard other mechanics praising De Anza’s automotive program. She enrolled full-time in 2022 and liked it so much that she’s earned three different automotive degrees.

“The people in the program are what make you want to keep coming every day,” she said. “The teachers and staff are really supportive of their students. They want you to succeed.”

Cooke was active in the Auto Tech student club and an advisory committee for the new mural outside the Veterans Resource Center, where she says veterans’ counselor Lan Truong played a vital role in “keeping me on track” to achieving her goals.

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Kimberly Weber: 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.

Kimberly Weber was kind of shy when she came to De Anza three years ago. But she said she learned to “break out of my bubble” by joining clubs, making friends and talking with her instructors.

This year’s DeHart Scholarship recipient made her mark at De Anza, where she helped lead the Zero Waste environmental club and spent countless hours doing restoration work in the Cheeseman Environmental Studies Area (ESA). After graduating with an associate degree for transfer in Mathematics, Weber is transferring to the University of California, Berkeley, where she plans to study biomedical engineering.

“Kimberly was a leader. She volunteered for an incredible number of hours, helping us with our ongoing restoration project,” said ESA coordinator Diana Martinez, who oversees the 1.5-acre natural garden in the southeast corner of campus.

Weber, 21, said she became interested in biology and the environment as a teenager. She also likes to build things, and wants to pursue a bioengineering degree so she can create medical devices that can help monitor and treat health problems.

After hearing about De Anza’s reputation for being "Tops in Transfer," she decided it would be a good place to begin her college studies while she decided on her long-term goals.

In her time at the college, Weber also worked with Mentors@De Anza and has been a note-taker assisting students in the Disability Support Services program. After struggling a bit in her first year, she said things got easier as she made friends and became more comfortable with approaching instructors when she had questions.

Counselors and tutors at the Student Success Center were also helpful. “It’s important to take advantage of all the resources that are here,” she said. “And if you have free time, it really helps to get to know people and spend time with them.”