2023 Scholarship Recipients
This year we awarded $50,000 in scholarship checks to 22 hard-working skateboarders!
We’ve continued working with Rollin’ From The Heart to support our Poods and Zane Memorial Scholarships and with Exposure Skate to back women, trans and nonbinary skateboarders! In addition to these and our own Dean’s List scholarships…
We’re excited to announce we’re now working with Atiba Jefferson to support photographers and videographers with the Atiba Jefferson Photography & Film Scholarship!
We can’t wait to keep up this growth from year to year! Share and help us get from $50k to six figures…
Miles Jackson
Dean’s List Scholarship ($5,000)
Miles founded a skateboarding non-profit y’all might know called Cuba Skate. In order to ensure its continued success, Miles has been furthering his education by pursuing an MBA at the University of Southern California. In his first year at USC, Miles won the community service award for most number of hours served, highlighting his dedication to the greater good. Once he completes his program in the spring of 2024, Miles aims to grow the social impact of Cuba Skate and begin new adventures in the philanthropic world.
Victoria Lara
Dean’s List Scholarship ($5,000)
Victoria is beginning her grad school journey at the Colorado School of Mines (COSM). Her love for the environment and desire to drive humanity toward a more sustainable future brought Victoria to COSM to study Hydrologic Science and Engineering. In addition to improving the world from an environmental standpoint, Victoria is an active board member of Honey Skate Club which focuses on expanding opportunities for women and LGBTQ+ individuals. She was even accepted into the inaugural Fellowship Program by the Skatepark Project.
Maxim Shapovalov
Dean’s List Scholarship ($5,000)
Max is a dedicated skateboarder who led the Skate Club at the University of California at Riverside during his undergraduate studies while also filming for full-length videos with his crew. His environmentally conscious motivation brought him to the University of Oregon, where he is working towards his Master’s degree, focusing on Remote Sensing and GIS. His goal of interpreting spatial and hydrologic data to affect climate change is noble. Meanwhile, Max is filming yet another full-length skate video with the unofficial Skate Club at the University of Oregon!
Angie Crum
Exposure Scholarship ($5,000)
Having earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Colorado at Denver, Angie is beginning the journey towards a double Master’s degree (yes, DOUBLE) in Architecture and of Science Architecture Research Digital and Material Technologies at the University of Michigan in the fall of 2023. Her end goal is to use “advanced fabrication and material technologies to help alleviate social disparities experienced throughout marginalized communities.” And being the skater she is, Angie wants to construct more skateparks that are inclusive to all skill levels and disabilities. Angie is selfless in the decade of work she has done with Skate Like A Girl and as a volunteer helping build a skatepark in Havana with Cuba Skate.
Izzi Cooper
Exposure Scholarship ($5,000)
While pursuing her undergrad, Izzi discovered the Push to Heal documentary which uses the Neurosequential Model to explain the healing properties of skateboarding. This opened the floodgate of possibilities on how skateboarding could be integrated into her academic & professional career, helping lead Izzi to attend Bastyr University in pursuit of a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology with the goal of becoming a therapist. She has already begun this marriage through creating a zine called “Heal Flip”, taking examples of positive changes in mental health from skateboarding for youth in Greece and Palestine. The roles Izzi has had with Skate Like A Girl combined with her amazing academic work have earned her an Exposure Scholarship with CSEF.
Kalista Villatoro
RFTH Ian “Poods” Barry Scholarship ($2,000)
Encinitas has been home to many influential skateboarders for generations, and Kalista is no exception to that legacy. As a skateboarder and a competitive runner, she has dealt with countless injuries. This fueled a fire to better understand our bodies' healing processes, leading Kalista to study Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at Yale University. Kalista’s goal is to become an orthopedic surgeon working with all athletic types (skateboarders at the front of the line of course), and she dreams of developing new treatments and technologies. It all seems pretty doable given that Kalista started a small skateboard brand called First Love Skateboards aimed at women and newcomers to skateboarding in her area and has hit a semi-famous spot called THE MEGA RAMP.
Mary Sullivan
RFTH Zane Timpson Scholarship ($5,000)
Mary is not only a skateboarder in Denver; she is giving back to Denver’s skateboarding community. Through her own organization, Skate Goblins, and in collaboration with Girls Skate Denver, Mary facilitates after-school programs and skate meet-ups for youth in the local skateboarding community. All while studying photography at the Metropolitan State University of Denver mind you! Mary’s end goal is to showcase the beauty of skateboarding while highlighting our diverse community and empowering women through her work. This scholarship will help Mary to finish her degree in May 2024.
Luke Lace Lacasa
Atiba Jefferson Photography & Film Scholarship ($3,000)
It all started for this San Diego native when he “borrowed” his parents’ camcorder to make videos with his friends. Though he got caught early on, nothing could stop Luke’s desire to document those around him. He has filmed and edited multiple locally well-known San Diego videos (Playhouse is a must-watch), but Luke’s goals are larger than that. Luke is currently in the 4th year of his MFA in Film Directing at UCLA. As a Filipino-American from a rough neighborhood, he aims to create opportunities for actors and crew members of color to shine in his future projects.