UCSB Student to Accept White House Award

This is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government for efforts that advance those fields of education.

Anai Novoa, a senior at UCSB in the College of Creative Studies, will accept the award at a White House ceremony on Monday, Dec. 12. Ocean Discovery Institute is a San Diego-based nonprofit organization that promotes mentoring in science and engineering. The award highlights the crucial role that mentoring plays in the academic and personal development of students studying science and engineering – particularly those who belong to groups that are underrepresented in these fields.

Serving City Heights, a diverse and economically disadvantaged neighborhood in San Diego, Ocean Discovery Institute has, for the past 12 years, worked to empower youth from urban and diverse backgrounds to become future scientific leaders. Its programs, which are tuition-free, are designed to help young people work toward protecting oceans and the natural environment, as well as to improve the health of communities, and strengthen quality of life.