Bay Scholars Helps Underresourced Youth Reach Their Full Potential

By the end of high school, Isaiah C. had already mapped out his future political career path. First, he’d get elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, then on to mayor, and, finally, be elected to the House of Representatives. 

All of this was because Isaiah had been given a chance of a lifetime. He earned a merit-based scholarship from Bay Scholars that allowed him to attend the renowned Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory High School in San Francisco at no cost. He isn’t taking the opportunity for granted; he aims to pay it forward. 

“I am a low-income student from two underrepresented communities – I am half Asian, half Latino – and our voices need to be heard,” Isaiah says, now 20. 

Bay Scholars gives “close-the-gap scholarships” to hundreds of students just like Isaiah each year so they can attend one of 17 Catholic high schools in the Bay Area, prestigious schools that cost upwards of $20,000 a year in tuition. The funding is not a handout; scholarships go to students from low-income families who’ve demonstrated exceptional promise. 

“That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re all the 4.0 top scholar-athletes. They’re just kids who, if given the chance to be a part of these great communities, will reach their full potential,” Caitlin Curran Kavanagh, executive director, says. 

Bay Scholars focuses on the transformative power of education, through enhancing educational equity and access to kids who would otherwise not be able to afford college preparatory high school. But being a Bay Scholar is more than just funding. It comes with a significant level of wraparound support, including college and personal counseling, opportunities for leadership, connecting with mentors, and finding their own mission-driven path, Kavanagh says. Bay Scholars students have an exceptional 100% acceptance rate into college after high school. 

Isaiah found a passion he did not know existed working with children. He also served as the class business officer on the school council, mentored other youth in public speaking, and ran for school president, and though he wasn’t elected, his spirit for politics remains as strong as ever. Isaiah is dedicated to service, he says, not his ego or financial rewards. 

“When I think about leaders, I don’t think about Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerberg, I think about Dorothy Day, Mother Teresa,” Isaiah says. “Real leaders are humble and don’t live in big houses… but they make sure they get the job done for their people.”

For Bay Scholar Isaiah, service means representing underserved communities in California, and he believes a seat in Congress would allow him to do the greatest services. This is the promise and leadership Bay Scholars discovers and promotes in all of its students.