Jacob Green Memorial Prize

We are pleased to honor two seniors with the Jacob Green Memorial Prize in Race and Ethnic Studies, named in honor of a graduate that we lost too young. Both students embody Jacob’s commitment to fighting for equality for all, facing hard questions about racism in America, and creating spaces on this campus where everyone could be seen, heard and valued.

Kyrin Skinaway grew up in a diverse community and majored in race and ethnic studies and women and gender studies so she could build knowledge to bring home. She has worked as a Pride Intern and DEI chair of her sorority, and she plans to pursue a career as an advocate fighting for a future where women of color can be safe in their homes, communities, and colleges.

Jade Rosales has dedicated every moment of her college career to the pursuit of more just communities. As a double major in race and ethnic studies and sociology and anthropology, she has been an important leader in our first-generation college programs, in WRW, and in many other organizations. She looks forward to a career in higher education counseling, where she can continue to support and uplift students and build spaces that foster understanding and inclusivity.

Britney Gonzalez

We are honored to present this year’s recipient of the Jacob Green Memorial Prize in Race and Ethnic Studies to Britney Gonzalez, class of 2026. Even though Britney is only a sophomore, she stood out from many great candidates as a leader of our first-generation student programs and an ambassador for inclusion on and off campus. She serves as a mentor in STEP and will be a lead for the Summer Bridge Program this summer. Her work is driven by a passionate commitment to give younger students the kind of support and community that was given to her by her mentors.

Working with Alpha Xi Omicron, she has helped organize the Take Back the Night march and to build support for RAINN to raise awareness to combat sexual assault. She also serves as a tour guide on campus, where her coworkers praise her for embodying the university’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, because she makes every potential student and their family “feel valued, respected and supported.” She is committed to being a catalyst for change on and off campus as she trains to become a teacher. We can’t wait to see what change she builds next.

Zharit Brand Robles

Zharit’s ability to turn her passion for racial and gender justice into impactful practices across campus makes her a deserving co-recipient of this year’s Jacob Green Memorial Prize. She helped to organize and host RAINN week (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) which seeks to prevent sexual violence, help survivors, and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice. She worked with Summer Bridge and STEP to help first generation students foster a sense of belonging on campus. She coordinated weekly Friday campus visits by middle school students from underserved areas, bringing over 1,300 to campus over the last three semesters.

Zharit’s commitment and ability to collaborate and organize made her a bedrock for many programs on campus like Hispanic Heritage Month, MLK Week, Black History Month and Women’s History month. She also applied those skills to building growing relationships between Greek organizations and CDI, carrying on the work of Jacob Green and the 2022 prize winner David Hazward.

Zharit encouraged and inspired people with her enthusiasm and energy and created a sense of optimism and hope. Others turned to her leadership and her unfiltered opinion was highly valued. With her radiant smile and caring presence, Zharit naturally invited others to be involved, specifically other first-year student commuters. She has done all this, while also working part-time off campus and commuting to school. For all of these outstanding contributions, we are honored to name Zharit Brand Robles one of this year’s Jacob Green Memorial Prize winners.

Jennifer Sacor Velasco

Jenni Sacor’s career at University of Redlands was distinguished by her strong leadership across campus. She was President of the Latin American Students and Alumni Association as well as the Alpha Xi Omicron sorority. She was the student representative on the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee, and the main coordinator of the Living on Common Ground Festival. She was also a leader in the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, where she was the liaison to other student organizations.

Though Jenni found herself leading in diverse settings, there was consistency in her leadership style that earned praise from her peers and supervisors. She is described as a leader everyone can depend on. Her positive attitude and presence made people feel welcomed and comfortable, which, in turn, helped them to realize their full potential.

Jenni’s warmth and friendliness, combined with her organizing skills and strong work ethic were especially evident in her work on the 2023 Living on Common Ground Festival. The Festival was a success because Jenni built cooperative relationships with individuals and organizations on and off campus. She spoke eloquently about the history and vision of the Living on Common Ground Festival which helped people to see why it was important to participate.

As one nominator wrote, “What I remember most about Jacob is his passion for expressing love to all. Jenni is one of the leading faces on campus who embodies this facet of Jacob the most.” We are honored to name Jenni Sacor one of this year’s co-recipients of the Jacob Green Memorial Prize.

David Hazward

David Hazward’s career at University of Redlands is defined by his unwavering commitment to matters of social justice. For four years, he served as an intern at the Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI). He was an active leader in the Black Student Union and Gamma Delta Rho, a fraternity for men of color. David helped to organize successful events such as the inaugural Juneteenth celebration in 2021, the Living on Common Ground Multicultural Festival, Martin Luther King Jr Week events, and the Diversity Pride Parade. He collaborated with the Title IX office, the Johnston Center for Integrated Studies, and the Office of Career and Professional Development. David brought his art and design skills to raise awareness of marginalized communities, an effort recognized in a September 2021 Bulldog Blog. Off campus, David worked with the Islamic Community Center of Redlands and the Peace Academy. He helped compile a catalog of local Black-owned businesses called “The Black Pages: A Modern Greenbook for the Inland Empire.”

What distinguishes David, however, is not the list of his accomplishments but the everyday humanity and care David brought to his efforts. Building close relationships was the foundation of his social change leadership. As one of his nominators wrote: “David greets everyone who comes into a shared space with a genuineness that makes you feel like you've always known each other.” He notices people who might otherwise fall into the background. His kindness helps them to develop their voice and power. David leans into his one-to-one relationships to understand differences so he can build the inclusive community he so desires.

David began his work as a CDI intern while Jacob Green was a Junior in the office. David looked up to Jacob and learned from him. It was Jacob's influence and easy manner that helped David find his voice. It is fitting that now in his senior year, David has done the same to influence the next generation of change agents and community builders. For all of this, we are honored to award this year’s Jacob Green Memorial Prize to David Hazward.

Montserrat Pineda

Montserrat came to University of Redlands from her hometown of North Long Beach. Her family immigrated to the United States from El Salvador, and her mom was particularly influential in instilling in Montserrat a commitment to serving her community.

From the beginning of her time at University of Redlands, Montserrat has been involved in activities both on and off campus. In Long Beach, she interned for the mayor and Congressional representative. She worked as a policy analyst on issues related to healthcare and immigration. In response to the increase in ICE raids, Montserrat helped to create a resource webpage that was translated into Spanish, Khmer and Tagalog. She has also volunteered at the Long Beach Center for Economic Inclusion, with their food distribution efforts.

On campus, Montserrat has been a participant and mentor in the STEP program for first generation students. She has served as Diversity and Activism Chair for WRW. This year, her big project was working on Bulldog Votes. She met with 20 FYS seminars to help educate them on the importance of voting. She helped to register voters as part of the California Ballot Bowl, and University of Redlands won the prize for colleges in our category. All of this work is related to her major in Political Science.

As one of her nominators writes, “Monserrat invests so much into making campus better for her peers and future generations of students. I admire her, and her commitment and drive inspire me to do better for my community. Every academic and extracurricular venture exemplifies her passion for the liberation of marginalized students. Monserrat works hard for marginalized students but does it in a way that any student can feel welcome and encouraged to join the effort. She balances important and safe spaces for marginalized students as well as uplifting collaborative spaces for students of all backgrounds to work together and learn from each other.”

We are pleased to award the 2021 Jacob Green memorial Prize to Montserrat Pineda. Congratulations!

Javier Garcia III

To mark the inaugural presentation of the Jacob Green Memorial Prize, the following text was read by Dr. Keith Osajima, Chair of the Race and Ethnic Studies program, at the REST Virtual Graduation Celebration attended by graduates, family and friends on April 17, 2020:

It is my honor to present the inaugural Jacob Green Memorial Prize. It is an honor that comes with tremendous sadness, for this prize was established in the wake of Jacob’s tragic death in November 2019. Jacob Green was a race and ethnic studies major, who believed deeply in fighting for equality. His open, loving heart and inquisitive mind made Jacob a beloved member of the University of Redlands community. With his gracious smile, warmth and generous expressions of love, Jacob created a space where everyone could be seen, heard and valued.

Though heartbroken by this great loss, those of us who loved and worked with Jacob, wanted to keep his spirit alive and so established this prize, to honor students who promote the values that Jacob embodied – a commitment to racial justice, equality and leadership to build a loving inclusive community at University of Redlands. We hope that this prize will pass the torch of racial justice that Jacob carried so well from one generation to the next.

This year we are proud to present the inaugural Jacob Green Memorial Prize to Javier Garcia III. This was an easy choice. From his first days here, Javi has dedicated his time and energy to supporting first generation students like himself. He has promoted social justice through his work at the Center for Diversity and Inclusion. He has deepened his understanding of race and racism as a race and ethnic studies major. Beyond these qualities, it is fitting that Javi is awarded this prize simply because he was Jacob’s closest and dearest friend on campus. They were inseparable, and they always pushed each other to be better human beings. After Jacob’s passing, Javi played a healing role in the community. His tears showed people how to grieve, his hugs comforted those around him. This spring, still hurting from the loss, Javi sought healing through writing. His set of short narratives perfectly captured the beauty of their deep friendship, the laughter and love, and the unbearable pain.

Congratulations, and thank you Javi for all you have done. Please take comfort in knowing that through this prize, you and Jacob will be linked together, forever.