Round Valley students earn inaugural Ka Mees Tatk UC Law San Francisco Scholarship

From left: UC Law SF CFO David Seward, Round Valley High School graduates and scholarship recipients Perla Carmona and Camryn Mitchell, and former UC Law SF board chair Tom Gede.

Camryn Mitchell and Perla Carmona, co-valedictorians of the Round Valley High School Class of 2026, are the first recipients of the Ka Mees Tatk UC Law San Francisco Scholarship.

In 2025 UC Law SF established a $250,000 fund to support graduates of Round Valley High School in attaining their educational goals. Investment earnings from the fund are intended to assist with tuition, housing, books and materials at the schools the recipients will attend.

In the language of the Yuki, one of the confederated tribes of the Round Valley Indian Tribes, Ka mees tatk means “it is a good path.”

Mitchell has accepted a scholarship to attend UC Berkeley, majoring in administrative justice with a minor in pre-law. Carmona, who served as Round Valley High student body president and Class of 2026 president, plans to attend UC Davis and major in political science.

At the June 11 Round Valley High School Senior Breakfast where the awardees were recognized, Mitchell dedicated the moment to her late mother, Crystal Britton, and thanked her family for their support and encouragement.

Carmona thanked her parents for their love and support, as well as her friends and school staff. “Going to college is an exciting step for me, and I appreciate everyone who has helped me get to this point,” she said. “The support I have received has given me opportunities that I will always be thankful for.”

A Round Valley Unified School District committee reviewed applications and conducted interviews with scholarship candidates in consultation with the Round Valley Indian Tribes. This year the total awarded was $10,000. UC Law San Francisco Chief Financial Officer David Seward and former law school board chair Tom Gede attended the senior breakfast.

The scholarship is part of a larger UC Law SF restorative justice effort that began in 2017, in recognition of harms done by the law school’s founder against the Yuki Indians in the Round Valley and Eden Valley region.

The law school collaborates with the Round Valley Indian Tribes Tribal Council and its Yuki Committee on a variety of initiatives. These include offering pro bono legal services to California Native tribes, opening an Indigenous Law Center at the law school, and more.

“It is good to be here at this time to witness UC Law’s commitment to reconciliation and partnership with the people of Round Valley,” said Round Valley Unified School District Superintendent Stephanie Steffano-Davis. “I am happy to see the first year of the new scholarship, Ka mees tatk (It is a good path), supporting post-secondary pathways for two exemplary graduates of Round Valley’s schools. Our schools look forward to partnering with UC Law in other ways, as well, to support restorative justice and a bright future for Round Valley.”

From left: Round Valley Unified School District Superintendent Stephanie Steffano-Davis, scholarship recipient Perla Carmona and Round Valley High School Principal Amanda Derby.