On the 150 year anniversary of Santa Barbara High School, the Santa Barbara High School Alumni Association has named State Sen. Monique Limón, class of 1997, as its 2025 Distinguished Alumna.
The SBHS Alumni Association began the recognition of distinguished alumni in 1987 and continues to honor those who have achieved considerable career and personal success and have contributed to the advancement of their community.
Limón currently serves as the California state senator representing Santa Barbara County, and parts of Ventura and South San Luis Obispo counties. Before serving in the Senate, Limón represented her hometown as the region’s assemblymember from 2016-20 and served six years on the Santa Barbara Unified School Board.
Prior to holding elected office, she was the assistant director for the McNair Scholars Program at the UC Santa Barbara, and worked at Santa Barbara City College and UCSB as an advisor and mentor to help students achieve their professional and academic goals through higher education.
“The Distinguished Alumni award has been awarded annually since 1987 to one alum who has reached considerable career and personal success,” said Cuca Acosta of the SBHS Alumni Association. “This year multiple nominations came in for Monique Limón.
“Given Sen. Limón’s accomplishments and the impact she has made to our state we were eager to present her with the Distinguished Alumni award for 2025. She highlights the spirit of a Don, to serve and impact change for those around you. Sen. Limon has impacted change locally, regionally and nationally. We are honored to call her a Don.”
“As a proud Santa Barbara local who has the honor of representing the district I grew up in, I am proud to be named the 2025 Distinguished Alumna by the Santa Barbara High School Alumni Association,” said Limón.
“My time as a Don shaped who I am today and taught me that education is not only a key component to being successful, but it is a critical tool to empower our community. Thank you to the Alumni Board for this honor,” she said.
For some eight decades, SBHS served as the sole public high school to serve the Santa Barbara-Goleta community producing alumni such as Pearl Chase, Charles Schwab, Martha Graham and others who have made significant contributions to California and the nation, the Alumni Association said.
“Today, the Alumni Association stands at over 4,000 members strong and carries on the Don tradition of giving back and building forward. The Alumni Association has awarded over $2.75 million in scholarships to more than 1,400 students embodying the school’s motto of ‘Once a Don, Always a Don,'” the association said.
To learn more about the SBHS Alumni Association and the Distinguished Alumni Award, click here.