Alumni Honors

School of Peace Studies Honors Chris Yanov

The Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies will honor alumnus Chris Yanov (2003) with the Author E. Hughes Career Achievement Award at this year’s Alumni Honors gala on May 1, 2010. Each year, USD bestows this honor on one graduate from each of the schools on the campus. The award is given to recognize outstanding career achievement and exemplary representation of USD’s ideals.

Chris Yanov graduated from the first cohort of MA students in Peace and Justice Studies in 2003. He is the founder of Reality Changers, a non-profit organization, which mentors at-risk youth to earn scholarships to four-year universities, including Harvard, Princeton, Stanford and other Ivy League schools.  The mission of Reality Changers is to provide inner-city youth from disadvantaged backgrounds with the resources to become first generation college students by supplying academic support, financial assistance, and faith-based leadership training. Since its founding, Chris has raised over $1,000,000 in scholarships for the students in his program.

When asked how his degree in Peace and Justice Studies helped him, he said, “USD's Peace and Justice Studies program taught me how to convert academic concepts into practical tools for bringing about tangible change. Now I work in San Diego's toughest part of town as the founder of Reality Changers, an organization that builds first generation college students in a community where less than 3% of adults have college diplomas. Teaching these students how to get to college creates more peace in their neighborhoods and more justice for the region.”

Before he started Reality Changers, Chris worked with gang members in San Diego for five years. He was compelled by the reality that most inner-city teenagers know more people who have been shot or killed than people who are on the road to college. He started his organization to change that reality.

“We are delighted to recognize Chris in this way,” said USD School of Peace Studies Dean William Headley. “Many of our alumni are all over the world, building peace in their home countries. It’s nice when we are also able to acknowledge that some of our alumni stay in San Diego and build peace right here at home.”