News release
A 2026 West Ranch High School graduate is among 10 college-bound students across Los Angeles County who have been named as Milken Scholars, earning individual $10,000 awards for their dedication to academics, extracurriculars and community service, the program announced in a news release.
Harvard-bound Brandon Chang is one of the 10 earning the honor in L.A. County, the release said.
The scholarship Program, a joint initiative of the Milken Institute and the Milken Family Foundation, honors high school seniors in Los Angeles County, New York City, and Washington, D.C., each year with a $10,000 cash prize and lifelong access to college advising, career counseling, internship assistance, community service opportunities, and a fund to help with graduate school applications, unpaid internships, study abroad programs, and other costs associated with their career preparations, the release said.
The Milken Scholars Program was established in 1989 by Mike and Lori Milken. After completing a rigorous nomination, application and interview process, Milken Scholars are selected based on academic performance, community service, leadership, and their ability to persevere in the face of personal challenges, the release said.
Past recipients include inaugural poet Amanda Gorman; Ruben Harutunian, treasurer of the board of the Binational Fulbright Commission in Egypt and minister-counselor for public diplomacy at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo; Dr. Joelle Simpson, chief of emergency medicine at Children’s National Hospital; and award-winning entrepreneur Emanuel Yekutiel.
“The members of the Milken Scholars Class of 2026 remind us that the future belongs to those who never stop learning,” Mike Milken said in the release. “In a world being reshaped by new technologies and new opportunities, they have already demonstrated a record of achievement and intellectual curiosity that will serve them well throughout their lives. Lori and I are proud to welcome them into the Milken Scholars community and look forward to the contributions they will make in the years ahead.”
Chang, who graduated from West Ranch in June, believes science is most impactful when it’s accessible to everyone, the release said.
Driven by a passion for expanding access to science, technology, engineering and math education, he founded GalaxSea Explorers, a nonprofit that has delivered free space education to more than 260,000 low-income students worldwide through classroom curriculum, books, camps and educator resources.
His work has been recognized by the George H.W. Bush Points of Light Award, the Princeton Prize in Race Relations, and the Biden-Harris administration. Chang conducted aerospace research through the NASA Student Engagement Program and UC Santa Barbara Summer Research Academies, headed after-school Target Tutors, and coached Rancho Pico Junior High’s MathCounts team to its first California state competition appearance in 14 years.
At West Ranch, Chang served as president of Key Club, math club and space club; vice president of the National Honor Society; captain of the varsity speech and debate team and Science Olympiad; and associated student body senate facilitator. He also founded Roots & Rhetoric, a civic writing and debate class for middle school students. He is a decorated Olympiad competitor, AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Scholarship finalist, MIT-PRIMES Mathroots participant and three-time National Speech and Debate Association National Showcase finalist.
Chang plans to study applied mathematics and computer science at Harvard and pursue a career as an aerospace engineer or statistician.
