Kingsborough Community College graduate is now a student at Yale

William Cesar Lotz was one of the recipients of the 2025 Kaplan Leadership Scholars

A Kingsborough Community College (KCC) graduate has headed to Yale University.

William (Liam) Cesar Lotz, who graduated from the Brooklyn school earlier this year, was named a member of the 2025 Kaplan Leadership Scholars.

The Kaplan Leadership Program (KLP) helps high-potential, low-income, and underserved community college students complete their associate degree, successfully transfer and go on to earn a four-year bachelor’s degree at the nation’s most highly-selective schools.

Lotz was raised in the Sheepshead Bay area but also spent a lot of his childhood in Washington Heights and Bay Ridge.

“Getting into Yale means more than the world to me, because I did not feel confident in my chances of being able to get into an Ivy League institution, let alone Yale – despite knowing that I was an exemplary student,” said Lotz. 

Lotz plans to study film and is aspiring to be a film archivist.

“My mission is to uplift the voices of those from underrepresented backgrounds,” he said. “Attending Yale as a student from an underrepresented background speaks directly to this goal.”

He received the good news when he was sent an acceptance email early in the day while at a meeting at KCC to go over his role of MC for that semester’s Deans’ List ceremony. 

“My mother’s voice immediately echoed in the back of my head, because she had explicitly requested that I not open this letter without her, regardless of the news,” he said. “I went through my entire school day anxious to read the email, genuinely unsure what to expect upon opening my portal. When it was evening time and I finally arrived home, I could not wait any longer.

 “I immediately grabbed my mom and pulled her into the dining room with me as I opened my email. As I was directed to the Yale student application portal, the big update was waiting for me to click it. Once I navigated to my response screen, the word ‘Congratulations’ appeared on the screen, and I let out a victory screech.”

His time at Kingsborough taught him many lessons, but the most important one to him was to know himself. He graduated from High School of Telecommunication Arts & Technology through a District 75 Program with Lillian Rashkis High School in 2019. Afterwards, he did not see himself in a classroom setting again. 

“I struggled from middle school, into high school, and graduated with the equivalent of a 2.0 GPA,” he explained. “This led me to many odd jobs, from dog walking, to sales, to retail work, all of which did not seem to provide me the fulfillment I was seeking after graduating high school.” 

In 2023, he enrolled at KCC as a Liberal Arts major. During his time there, his grades significantly improved.

He found out about the Kaplan Leadership Program through his professor, Dr. Luz Martin Del Campo, who encouraged him to apply. 

“Through my experience with the program, I was assigned my own personal writing coach who provided me swift feedback on my application essays,” he said. “Working with Sam [my writing coach] really helped me articulate myself, and ensure my applications were telling my story in the most authentic way possible.”

Lotz thanked his professors at KCC for the accomplishment.

“From my first semester, my professors, such as Dr. Luz Martin Del Campo, Professor Jason VanOra and Professor Maxine Krenzel all believed in me, and saw things in me that I was unable to see in myself at the time,” he said. “Their mentorship made me believe in my abilities as a writer, a student, and just an overall human being.”

Nolvia Delgado, executive director of the Kaplan Educational Foundation, congratulated this year’s 11 recipients.

“We’re thrilled to celebrate this year’s KLP scholars as they continue to build on the program’s 20-year legacy of success,” he said. “This year’s cohort continues to represent the high-potential talent that exists in U.S. community colleges, including non-traditional age students, recent immigrants, and first-generation college students. We’re committed to continuing to remove barriers and provide greater access to higher education for talented, motivated individuals.”