Scholars’ Inspirational Service and Leadership Honor Leaders in CCSF History
Every year, the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation selects 150 students across the United States who are in their final year of high school and who are making a significant impact on their schools and communities as Coca-Cola Scholars, awarding each a $20,000 college scholarship.
In the final phase of selection, 250 Regional Finalists engage in virtual interviews with one of ten Regional Interview Committees composed of 2-3 Scholar alumni and a Foundation staff member.
In addition to selecting 15 Regional Finalists from their district to be named Coca-Cola Scholars, each Regional Interview Committee may nominate a new Coke Scholar for one of three special awards honoring the legacies of leaders from the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation: Crawford Johnson III, Claude Nielsen, and J. Mark Davis.
After the 10 Regional Interview Committees submit their nominations, an additional group of 20+ Coca-Cola Scholar alumni reviews the nominees' applications and selects a recipient for each award.
The Scholars below stood out among an impressive collection of Coke Scholars who lead and serve their communities with distinction. Click their photos below to learn about their accomplishments and passion to make the world a better place.
Crawford Johnson III Legacy Scholars
Crawford Johnson III served as the CEO of Coca-Cola UNITED and led the creation of the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation to honor the 100th anniversary of Coca-Cola in 1986.
This award recognizes a Coke Scholar who has been particularly inspiring as they have led and served in their schools and communities.
Yaseen El-Demerdash is an aspiring mechanical engineer and startup founder at The University of Kansas. He is also a para-swimmer on the US National Team who holds multiple American records. He was the 2022 National Champion in the 100 Freestyle and is working to represent Team USA at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
In his free time, Yaseen enjoys riding motorcycles, camping, astrophotography, and rock climbing. After college, he hopes to start his own business using the skills and connections he's gained throughout his athletic and academic careers.
"I am honored to be named the 2021 Crawford Johnson Coke Scholar. I am also extremely thankful and fortunate for the amazing family and community of mentors who made me the person I am today."
Favorite thing about being a Coke Scholar?
"The amazing community! Immediately after being named a Scholar, I had so many kind, talented, and successful individuals reach out to congratulate me. This organization has opened so many doors for me and broadened my horizon on what I can accomplish in my future!"
Florence Onyiuke is a second-year undergraduate student pursuing a joint-degree in International Relations & Business as part of the Huntsman Program at the University of Pennsylvania.
On campus, she plays an active role in various organizations, serving as the Executive Manager for Black Wharton Consulting, the DEI Committee Chair for The Dean’s Advisory Board, and a 2022 Word House Student Fellow at the Perry World House.
Her academic interests revolve around International Economic Policy, International Law, and Human Rights. She had the unique opportunity to explore these interests this past summer as a 2023 Frederick Douglass Global Fellow. As a fellow, Florence engaged in a one-month comparative study of peace, justice, and responses to conflict in D.C., Cape Town, and Dublin.
Amongst these accomplishments, Florence is also a Ron Brown Scholar and recipient of both the Presidential Service and Educational Excellence awards. An advocate of global citizenship and equity, she aspires to a future career at the nexus of business and international diplomacy.
"I am absolutely thrilled and so grateful to have been awarded the Crawford Johnson Scholarship. It is an incredible honor and a testament to the hard work and dedication I have put into my academic pursuits. Knowing that others recognize my potential and are willing to invest in my future is deeply humbling, and it fuels my determination to make the most of my studies so that I can create the global change I wish to see."
Favorite thing about being a Coke Scholar?
"Undoubtedly, my favorite thing about being a Coke Scholar is the incredible support system and network it provides. The Coca-Cola Scholars Program not only provides financial support for my education, but it also connects me with a diverse group of like-minded individuals who are passionate about making a positive impact on society. These fellow Scholars come from various backgrounds, fields of study, and regions, which makes for a rich and dynamic network. As I've embarked on my professional recruiting journey, I've had the chance to meet and collaborate with people who have or have had positions I aspire to. Their advice, direction, referrals, and recommendations have moved me one step to achieving my goals and I could not be more grateful for the Coke Scholar Community."
Ariona Miller is a freshman at Duke University intending to major in Public Policy and minor in Journalism and Inequality Studies. At Duke, she is the Social Chair of Big Brothers, Big Sisters, a member of the First-Year Library Advisory Board, a member of POLIS Student Committee, and a singer in the Chorale.
Ari is also an intern for the Durham Progressive Democrats where she works on advancing local campaigns, increasing voter turnout, and educating the public on contemporary legislation going through local and state governing bodies.
After obtaining her Bachelor's Degree, Ari intends to attend law school to establish a career as an attorney practicing family and civil rights law and run for public office. Her biggest goal in her professional career is to get her passion project---the first federal financial assistance program for emancipated minors (EMFAP)--instated as an official social welfare program in the United States.
"I am beyond grateful for being chosen for such an honor. As a first-generation, low-income student, I grew up thinking I would never escape the generational cycles of poverty and addiction in my family. Through the support of organizations such as the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, I will secure a successful, fruitful future."
Favorite thing about being a Coke Scholar?
"My favorite thing about being a Coke Scholar is having access to such a wide network of inspiring individuals who motivate me to be my best version of myself. Not only does this network allow me to access amazing opportunities in both professional and academic pursuits, but it also allows me to develop lifelong friendships."
Claude Nielsen Legacy Scholars
Claude Nielsen is a former long-standing chairman of the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation Board of Directors, former CEO & Chair of Coca‑Cola UNITED, and a leader in the Coca-Cola bottling community.
This award recognizes a Coke Scholar who has demonstrated exceptional impact through selfless service to their school and community.
Andre is a sophomore at Harvard College studying social studies with a focus field on the intersections of race, gender and socio-economic status in correlation to mass incarceration.
Outside of the classroom, Andre serves on the executive board of Harvard Model Congress (HMC) Boston, HMC San Francisco and HMC Europe—organizations focused on preparing the next generation of civic leaders.
Furthermore, he works as a Peer Advising Fellow, a position in which he advises first-year students to navigate their first year at Harvard.
After his undergraduate degree, Andre plans to pursue a J.D. and work in civil rights law, human rights law and prison abolitionism.
"I am immensely honored to have been named the 2021 Claude Nielsen Scholar by the Coca Cola Scholars Foundation. With my parents going to prison when I was 2 years-old and leaving home at 16, I found my family within my community and work everyday to make my hometown proud of the 'little boy with a big dream.' This distinction not only reminds me that my work is important, but motivates me to continue to spread my message of hope through kindness."
Favorite thing about being a Coke Scholar?
"My favorite thing about being a Coke Scholar is the immense community within my campus and around the world. This program has allowed me to interact with some of the brightest and most inspiring people and for that I will be forever grateful."
Edgar Omar Arteaga is a strong advocate for health equity. Administering the nation's first high-school-student-run pop-up medical clinic alongside two physicians, Edgar exposes the disparities in the healthcare system and fights for his community. Bridges Clinic, formally recognized by the US House of Representatives, serves uninsured patients and offers free consultations and medications.
Edgar, a first generation college student, attends Stanford University where is actively involved in many groups. Edgar is a proud altar server at Memorial Church, goalkeeper on the Men’s Club Soccer Team, guitarist and vocalist for Mariachi Cardenal, vice-president of the American Lung Cancer Screen Initiative, Head of Neurosurgery Research on Stanford Students in Biodesign Launchpad Team. He also is involved with Society of Latinx Engineers, Comunidad for Health Equity, Global Health Student Council. He is an avid Stanford athletics supporter, and rarely misses a game!
Edgar is a bioengineering major on the Pre-Med track. He works at the Stanford Cardiovascular Engineering Lab, under Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgeon Michael Ma, on prototyping an MRI compatible mock circulatory loop and cardiac phantoms to simulate common congenital heart lesions. Edgar is passionate about biomechanical applications and is also excited to begin cardiovascular tissue engineering research.
He aspires to become a Cardiothoracic surgeon, successful biotechnology company founder, and a future legislator. Edgar hopes to combine his passion for health equity and engineering and lead a life that will inspire many.
"I am beyond humbled to receive the 2022 Claude Nielsen Coca-Cola Scholarship. It feels incredible to receive such a distinction amongst a great cohort of scholarship recipients. I am super grateful for the Coca-Cola Scholar Foundation to aid me in my journey to medical school and beyond. I am overwhelmed with the support of the foundation."
Favorite thing about being a Coke Scholar?
"I love the Coke Scholars community. I have a lot of Coke Scholar friends at Stanford, and we do mixers and throw small events which are really fun. Furthermore, I enjoy when aspiring applicants send me an email, reach out on LinkedIn, or DM me on Instagram, asking for advice/tricks and tips for the application process. It makes me happy to see younger students reach out with questions and seek a mentor."
Aminata Ba is a freshman at The University of Mississippi double-majoring in Public Policy Leadership and Economics on a pre-law track.
An active member of her campus community, Aminata works for The University of Mississippi’s Center for Community Engagement as a Voting Engagement Ambassador, and she is member of the Associated Student Body’s Campus Outreach Team, Afro-Caribbean Student Association, Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, Muslim Student Association, and the Lott Leadership Public Policy Institute.
As a fellow with the Mississippi Votes organization, Aminata is dedicated to increasing civic engagement in the state of Mississippi and tackling socioeconomic disparities in the state through education.
After undergraduate school, Aminata plans to attend law school.
"Receiving the Claude Nielson Coca-Cola award is truly an incredible blessing that I am eternally grateful for. An award based on civic engagement, I am thrilled to be recognized for doing something that I love most. This award is an ode to my passion for service, and I am excited to join a cohort of other Scholars who have dedicated their lives to sacrifice, as well."
Favorite thing about being a Coke Scholar?
"My favorite thing about being a Coke Scholar is the endless inspiration you get from being linked to such a passionate, problem-solving community of change agents. The students in my cohort have created, and continue to create, such positive change in this world out of the whims of their concerns. They have truly shown me that change is possible, it is tangible, and it starts with each of us."
J. Mark Davis Legacy Scholars
J. Mark Davis served as President of the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation and retired after 30 years in 2018.
This award recognizes a Coke Scholar who has demonstrated exceptional impact through leadership in their school and community.
Anna MacLennan is a junior at Harvard studying Government, History, Chinese, and East Asian Studies. She is particularly passionate about advocacy for the Asian American community, and is the Executive Director of the East Coast Asian American Student Union, where she previously spent two years teaching Asian American history and advocacy to high school students.
She is also deeply involved in the Boston community as a mentor in the Chinatown Big Sibling program and a naturalization exam tutor in the Chinatown Citizenship Project. Anna is very interested in foreign policy and is a Senior Director in the Harvard Undergraduate Foreign Policy Initiative, where she’s done policy research and organized policy research teams for the White House, State Department, European Court of Justice, and more.
"I'm extremely honored and excited to be a J. Mark Davis Legacy Scholar!!! I have such a deep admiration for all of my fellow Coke Scholars that this award means an immense amount to me."
Favorite thing about being a Coke Scholar?
"The community!"
Shivi Srikanth is a sophomore at Harvard College, studying Bioengineering and Environmental Science/Public Policy. She is very interested in the intersection of these fields, most specifically in climate-focused engineering, urban design, and sustainable solutions.
At Harvard, Shivi is involved in a variety of undergraduate research and leadership initiatives. She is on the Board of Directors of the Harvard Undergraduate Clean Energy Group (HUCEG), which is the largest environmental group on campus. As the club’s first Director of Energy Equity, she has developed and runs equity-centric projects and has formed lasting partnerships with state-wide policymakers.
This semester, she is running a project with MassHousing, where HUCEG members on the project team carry out vital research and develop resources for the agency, with a focus on creating an equitable energy transition. Shivi also works alongside the Climate Coalition on Harvard’s campus. During her first year, she helped organize a university-wide climate conference focused on amplifying voices of students from climate-vulnerable locations. This was an extremely exciting opportunity, and opened the door for her to become further involved in the climate space on campus.
Outside of climate work, Shivi is on the Board of the Harvard University Engineering Society. As the Co-Chair of Mentorship Programs, she works to unite the diverse engineering community on campus through mentorship programs and events, and provides pre-professional resources for incoming freshmen and older engineering students alike.
Shivi has also had the chance to become very engaged in bioengineering research. This past summer, she worked as an Undergraduate Researcher in the Weitz lab, where she explored ways to improve the efficacy of lipid vesicles for cancer drug delivery. Essentially, Shivi's project was to identify and test methods of targeting and maximizing the delivery of drugs to cells, as well as recording the unique properties of lipid vesicles, or the nanoparticulate vehicles used for drug delivery.
This semester, Shivi is working on a research project rooted in bio-inspired design, which is ultimately the field she plans to pursue in grad school and beyond. She is fascinated by biomimicry, where researchers study zoology and ecology, and are able to apply this understanding to engineering where they design products, programs, buildings, and systems inspired by natural processes. Her goal is to closely connect a deep understanding of ecology with products that can combat climate change. As a researcher in the Pierce and Aizenberg labs this year, Shivi will be looking to translate the reflective properties of butterfly wings to building materials in order to develop urban cooling solutions.
Shivi believes that many social, racial, and environmental issues can be tackled through the thoughtful design of products, programs, and policy. Passionate about using engineering as a vehicle for social change, she plans to continue working in the field of biomimicry and sustainability to develop climate change solutions. She can see herself working in every professional sphere, from start-ups and industry, to government and academia, and is excited to see where the intersectional nature of her work takes her!
"I am extremely honored to be named a J. Mark Davis Scholar, an award that emphasizes the importance of impacting one’s school and community. I believe that with recognition, comes responsibility. Thus, while this award is a meaningful token of my service throughout high school, it has inspired me to continue to drive change in my college community as well. Working in environmental and energy activism on campus has been extremely fulfilling and has provided me with opportunities to bring together my Harvard peers and the broader metro-Boston community. I see the J. Mark Davis award as a beacon, and a reminder to continue pushing for justice and unity in every space I am able to exist within."
Favorite thing about being a Coke Scholar?
"Being a Coke Scholar comes with so many opportunities to grow and develop as a leader, individual, and as a student. I think my favorite thing about the foundation is the interconnectedness of the current and alumni Scholars, and how willing everyone is to reach out, give advice when necessary, or even just become a good friend. Some of my very best friends on Harvard’s campus are Coke Scholars, and our shared passions and interests have allowed us to form deep bonds.
"Furthermore, I have had the opportunity to connect and form friendships with alumni. During my freshman year of college, I participated in the scholarship’s coaching program, where I met quite regularly with a past scholar who mentored me in achieving my academic, personal, and leadership goals. This experience has truly been one of my favorite aspects of being a Scholar; I was able to learn so much about myself, and had an advisor and friend I could turn to and chat with about the goings-on at school.
"The coaching program, while truly transformative for me, is simply a reflection of the scholarship’s broader culture of togetherness. I could not be more thrilled to be a part of this community, and am excited to give back, just like my mentor did for me."
At UMKC, Joel Setya is in the 6 Year BA/MD Program, allowing an integrated approach to his undergraduate and medical school studies. In his first year itself, he's taking intensive medical anatomy, experiencing guided shadowing, and learning about the skills of a successful physician. In his short time there thus far, he has immersed himself in mental health initiatives as a project manager for the Physicians in Mental Health club and various medical research.
Joel continues to be involved in STEM & Buds, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering middle and elementary school students in STEM, and is directly mentoring about a dozen high school seniors through their senior year struggles and the college application process.
After college, Joel aspires to be a physician that makes a substantial difference in our world, whether that be by impacting the lives of patients, nonprofit work in the community, mentoring students to become the best version of themselves, or by any other benevolent opportunity that arises with time.
"I'm beyond honored to be the 2023 J. Mark Davis Coke Scholar. In Mark Davis's time as the president of the Coca-Cola Scholar Foundation, his kindness, enthusiasm, and passion impacted an immense number of Scholars and influenced them to reach their goals, and I'm incredibly thankful to receive an award named after him. Additionally, in my transition to college life in a new city with new people and new opportunities, the notification of this award rekindles the burning passion in me to create a difference. While the college transition has had its challenges, this award reminds me to keep on fighting for the benefit of my communities, and to never be complacent, as we can always work to make the world a better place."
Favorite thing about being a Coke Scholar?
"The Coke Scholars Weekend in Atlanta was one of the most inspiring events that I've ever attended. As I met the other Scholars, I was left amazed by their various accomplishments, and above all, the sincerity and enthusiasm they possess to create a difference in our world.
"The Leadership Development Institute changed countless perspectives and increased my emotional understanding, which has helped in various situations since then. I'm still in touch with a few Scholars I met over that weekend (and the others I get to celebrate their accomplishments as I learn about them through Instagram), and the Coke Scholar network has provided vital support and advice. Additionally, it's now extra satisfying indulging in a can of Coke."
The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation is forever grateful to have incredible champions in Crawford Johnson III, Claude Neilsen, and J. Mark Davis.
Many thanks to the more than 20 alumni who served on the Regional Interview Committees and nominated the finalists and the 20+ alumni who helped review and name the recipients from the last 3 years.
Congratulations to these incredible Legacy Coca-Cola Scholars!
The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation celebrates and empowers visionary leaders who are refreshing the world. With its 35th class of Coca-Cola Scholars, the Foundation has provided more than $81 million in scholarships to over 6,750 program alumni who together have become a powerful force for positive change. Learn more at www.coca-colascholarsfoundation.org.
Foundation News
Our 2024 Coke Scholars
These 150 high school seniors will each receive a $20,000 college scholarship and join a family of 6,900+ alumni who are leading positive change in their communities and around the world.
Our 2024 Regional Finalists
These 250 students have advanced to the next stage of selection in the Coca-Cola Scholars Program!
Be a Coca-Cola Scholar
Our application is open! High school seniors, apply for our $20,000 college scholarship by October 2, 2023.