University of Redlands
The Hunsaker Scholarship Prize is awarded annually to a select number of exceptional incoming students from diverse backgrounds. The highly competitive award meets each recipient’s full demonstrated financial need for all four years at Redlands. Alumni couple Richard and Virginia Hunsaker, class of 1952, established the scholarship in 2014 with their transformational gift of $35 million.
Hometown: Reisterstown, Maryland
High School: Franklin High School
Femi Adebogun is the cofounder and CEO of Testify Software Solutions, a company that has built cognitive applications that help facilitate personalized learning for K-12 students, including the MindMap mobile application, which enables students to easily communicate with teachers and counselors. He has a team of 13 people, has acquired more than $120,000 for the company from investors, and has been featured in Inc. Magazine. He is the COO and cofounder of Ralos Cases LLC, a company that produces solar-powered cell phone cases, CTO and cofounder of XGen Media, a platform for young game-changers to meet and learn from each other, a partner and head of product development at Releaf, a consulting agency group for entrepreneurs based in Nigeria, and a director at Grip Tape, an organization that was recently funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Carnegie Institution for Science. Additionally, Femi was recently recognized as one of the Top 100 Faces of Impact in 2017 by Impact Squared in New York City. He is a true inventor and innovator.
Hometown: San Jose, California
High School: Bellarmine College Preparatory
Charles Ajlouny is multi-talented and commits to everything he does. He was the sports director of the Bellarmine College Preparatory radio station, captain of the roller hockey team, Associated Student Body spirit commissioner, and founder of the Middle Eastern Awareness Club. He was the president of an elite improv troupe and a male acapella group, and was also very active in Children’s Musical Theatre. Additionally, he mentored incoming freshman through the Big Brother program and as a Bellarmine school ambassador. He looks forward to getting involved in KDAWG Radio and helping the program grow.
Hometown: Albuquerque, New Mexico
High School: Albuquerque Academy
As a three-sport student athlete in high school, Jordan Buttner captained both the swim and track and field teams to multiple state championships each. He was ultimately recruited to join the University of Redlands men’s swim team and will be swimming as a Bulldog. He also worked as a math peer tutor, both a Student Delegate and Peer Moderator for Model UN, a lead sports journalist for his school newspaper, and tenor saxophone player in the Jazz Ensemble. Jordan would like to develop new advanced prosthetic devices for Paralympic athletes, an idea that grew from his experience watching a high school teammate train for Team USA. He is extremely excited to contribute to his college community.
Hometown: Jonesboro, Arkansas
High School: Jonesboro High School
John Farris has a passion for connecting seemingly disparate concepts and areas of study to create solutions. His experiences range from mechanical tasks and construction to unique technology education and home automation. John has built web and smartphone applications for Arkansas’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system, working closely with cardiologists, EMS agencies, and the Arkansas Board of Health. His applications will help reduce the time it takes EMS personnel to respond to serious heart attacks known as ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI). He co-founded a non-profit, TLC Community Foundation, which provides free ACT classes, tutoring, and mentorship to financially disadvantaged students. John continues to foster the emotional intelligence and empathy that he believes is necessary to motivate himself to continue his projects while cultivating a joyful life.
Hometown: Oceanside, California
High School: Vista High School
Sabrina James' passion ignites around ensuring a quality education for all students. Sabrina took on an activist role within her high school and school district advocating for an educational philosophy called Personalized Learning, which involves using real world experiences to develop students’ strengths and interests in a values-based education. Through her involvement, she was able to help secure a $10 million grant from XQ to reimagine education for the future students of Vista High School. Simultaneously, Sabrina designed an internship program with a local middle school, giving her insight into the realm of educational practices and pedagogy, while mentoring at-risk and struggling students.
Hometown: Briarcliff Manor, New York
High School: Briarcliff High School
Max Kreppel strives to be involved in many different parts of his community and displays a passion for service. In high school, he was captain of the football team, head of the Leadership Club, and mentor to a 15-year-old through the Jewish Community Center Association. He was a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician in a local ambulance fleet and interned at Raise the Age, an organization that advocates for raising the age of criminality in New York.
Hometown: San Jose, California
High School: Bellarmine College Preparatory
Joaquin Schmidt is a social activist and seeks to improve the lives of others in the many communities around him. In high school, Joaquin taught weekly seminars at a low-income school with the Geography for Tomorrow program and received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for his service. He is an ambassador for the Catholic Network to End Human Trafficking, volunteered at a local LGBTQ community center, and participated in a Kaiser Permanente internship program to expose first-generation college-bound students to the practice of medicine. He was a member of the rugby and cross country teams at Bellarmine and held a part-time job each summer.
Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri
High School: Whitfield School
Mark Wheeler will be joining the men’s track and field team as a Bulldog. At Whitfield, he was a member of the basketball and track and field teams and a lead percussionist in the Trash Can Band (an auxiliary band). He was a member of the Black Student Union and Diversity Awareness Club, and completed over 200 hours of community service. He mentored younger students at his elementary school and served as a junior deacon in his church. Last spring, he was awarded the lead role, Sebastian the hermit crab, in the school musical, The Little Mermaid. He was a member of the Saint Louis Arches, an elite circus troupe, where he performed in front of hundreds of people weekly and traveled to Israel to perform with the Galilee Circus. He was also an acrobat in Circus Flora, an annual summer circus in Saint Louis.
