Noa Jacoby and Gabrielle Kadouri, both graduates of Milken Community School on Mulholland Drive in Bel Air, are among 10 Los Angeles County high school seniors selected as 2026 Milken Scholars. Each receives an unrestricted $10,000 award and lifetime access to career counseling, internship placement, and graduate school funding through the program co-sponsored by the Milken Family Foundation and the Milken Institute.

The L.A. scholars were publicly announced Tuesday, June 30, according to the Milken Scholars program.

It marks the second consecutive year Milken Community School has produced two scholars. In 2025, graduates Esther Madar and Samantha Simms earned the same honor, according to the Beverly Press.

Jacoby will study child development at Vanderbilt University as a Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholar and plans a career in psychology. At Milken Community School, she co-founded the Hot Takes debate club, captained the varsity volleyball team, and earned offensive player of the year and most valuable player honors. She interned with Social Scholars and conducted addiction recovery research at Pelago Health. As co-chair of Yozma Heart Action, she organized visits and card-writing campaigns for seniors in underserved communities.

Kadouri will attend the University of Texas at Austin to study kinesiology, with plans to become an orthopedic surgeon. She piloted a student apprenticeship program with the Milken Sports Medicine Department, participated in the Perry Initiative at Cedars-Sinai, and founded the school's Cancer Kids First chapter, which creates artwork for pediatric cancer patients. She also researched sex-based differences in concussion symptoms and recovery. Kadouri captained the varsity soccer team and served as president of the school's advisory committee.

More than half of the 2026 class will be the first in their families to attend college, and nearly a quarter were born outside the United States, according to the foundation's announcement. The cohort represents family roots in 14 countries spanning Latin America, West Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

Beverly Hills-area philanthropists Mike and Lori Milken founded the program in 1989 to support talented youth facing systemic gaps during academic and professional transitions. It has honored nearly 600 scholars over more than 35 years. Past recipients include inaugural poet Amanda Gorman.

A local recognition ceremony is scheduled for later in July. The full national cohort from Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington, D.C., will then travel to the capital at the end of July for a three-day summit titled "Leading in a New Era," which includes a visit to the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream on Pennsylvania Avenue, where the scholars' biographies will be featured in the center's exhibits.