When Sarahi Hernandez ‘24 first saw “Ziff” in her award from The Alan Ziff and Cheryl Scholar (Ziff) Scholarship Fund, she recognized it as the same name as a former teacher. “What are the chances the two are connected?” she wondered.
She learned the answer when she met Alan Ziff ‘75 at the Sip and Chat Reception in October 2023, an event that celebrates scholarship recipients and thanks scholarship donors for their support. Discussing Sarahi’s research project about bilingual education in Sonoma County, Alan said his daughters had been part of Spanish/English bilingual education at Cali Calmecac Language Academy
“I went there!” Sarahi said. “Is your daughter Alison Ziff? When Alan said yes, she went on, “She was my third-grade Spanish teacher, and she taught me salsa dancing.”
As they continued talking –past when everyone else had gone – a bigger “reveal” emerged. Alan and Sarahi were connected by their shared advocacy for bilingual education and practice, a value passed on through four branches of the Ziff family.
Alan’s father was principal of the first Spanish immersion school in the United States, which his sister Ilene attended. Alan was so inspired by Ilene’s ease in becoming bilingual there that he, his first wife, and some friends began campaigning to create such a school in their area. They successfully founded Cali Calmecac in 1986, and Alison was among its first students. She and Celeste are now bilingual educators in the Menlo Park School District, where Alan’s grandsons are learning Spanish from Aunt Alison.
Sarahi, who is a psychology and Spanish major with a minor in sociology, plans to become a bilingual, bicultural therapist and help fill a gap in such providers. She became an intern in Latino Service Providers’ Youth Promotores program, in which bilingual students are trained to promote mental health and wellness in their communities. Now coordinator of that program, Sarahi knows firsthand how critical language is to people’s ability to access health resources.
“I’m delighted that what my dad believed in when I was going to Sonoma State has flowed through generations to Sarahi’s getting aid to attend SSU and further the same goal some 50 years later,” Alan said.
“I realized how small the world is and how valuable that can be,’” Sarahi said. “For me, that day was about who I got to meet and the relationship I got to make with Alan. I know I can call on him to learn and discuss even more.”
The Scholarship a House Built
Alan’s present-day tie with Sarahi was not straightforward, but Sonoma State played a central role in the story. He says he bought his first house with his brother because there was little or no housing available to him at the time. After graduation, Alan embarked upon a successful career in real estate development and gifted a house to the Sonoma State University Foundation in the 1990s.
Proceeds from the sale of that house in 1995 became the foundation for the Alan Ziff and Cheryl Scholar (Ziff) Scholarship Fund.
“You have no clue what something can turn into,” Alan said of the original gift. “I didn’t know that I’d be able to see the changes in lives that it would make. You have a chance to get to know a living example of the heritage you’ve passed on.”
“I don’t think I would be here without the people who invested in my education,” said Sarahi, who plans to continue that tradition.
“I can’t imagine not giving back to my SSU and my community after what’s been made possible for me.”