People love to complain about the TikTok-toting, AI-assisted downfall of today’s generation of teens — but then you meet a kid like Jonah Segil and you realize:
It’s OK, grown-ups. We’re going to be just fine.
Last week, the Mira Costa junior became the first high school student to receive an award from UCLA’s Center for LGBTQ Advocacy, Research and Health, a public health research program that provides vital care and support services for LGBTQ+ individuals and families across Los Angeles.
And, boy, does he deserve the recognition.
Jonah Segil of Manhattan Beach raised more than $150,000 for the UCLA Center for LGBTQ+ Advocacy, Research and Health after the center lost its funding due to budget cuts. (Courtesy of Melissa Heckscher)
Jonah Segil was the first high school student to receive a service award from C-LARAH at UCLA. (Courtesy of Melissa Heckscher)
Jonah Segil of Manhattan Beach holds the Congressional Certificate of Recognition that he received last week from Congressman Ted Lieu for his work at the UCLA Center for LGBTQ+ Advocacy, Research and Health. (Courtesy of Melissa Heckscher)
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Jonah Segil of Manhattan Beach raised more than $150,000 for the UCLA Center for LGBTQ+ Advocacy, Research and Health after the center lost its funding due to budget cuts. (Courtesy of Melissa Heckscher)
“It felt really good,” said Jonah, who received UCLA’s Meritorious LGBTQ+ Service Award at a Sunday, April 12,symposium at UCLA after raising about $150,000 for the center. He also received a Certificate of Congressional Recognition from Rep. Ted Lieu.
“I did not expect to get an award,” he added.
But the recognition is only part of the story.
Jonah’s relationship with UCLA started last year when he contacted C-LARAH, hoping for an internship. At the time, he had received a sobering reply from its director, Dr. Matthew Mimiaga:
“When (Jonah) contacted me, I explained that funding for our research and training programs had been abruptly cut by the new presidential administration,” said Mimiaga, who is also a professor in the Department of Epidemiology at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health.
It was a cut that jeopardized years of groundbreaking research on LGBTQ+ health, HIV prevention and community advocacy, Mimiaga said.
For Jonah, it was that “no” that became the catalyst for action.
“Jonah got so mad about it,” said his dad, James Segil. “Not because they said no, but because it was like, ‘OK, I hear all about these cuts and everything that has happened to the federal government, and now this is in my backyard, at this huge organization. Like, how is this possible?’”
Putting his internship ambitions aside, Jonah sprang into action — calling on a network of family and friends to mobilize an on-the-ground fundraising effort that raised more than $100,000 for the center in just a few months.
“They had told me, ‘We wish that there were ways for you to get involved, but we’re basically starving to keep the lights on,’” Jonah said. “That led me to tell my dad about it and then form the fundraising committee.”
Jonah’s fundraising efforts marked the first time the center had relied on private donations. Before he came along, C-LARAH had received all of its funding from government grants.
UCLA’s C-LARAH is a public health research center focused on improving health outcomes for LGBTQ+ communities. Its work includes HIV prevention and treatment, as well as broader research on health disparities, mental health and access to care for LGBTQ+ individuals.
The center also conducts local community outreach, education and support programs, connecting underserved populations with critical services.
When I asked Jonah why he felt compelled to help the center, Jonah said its mission simply aligned with his values.
“I have been doing LGBT+ student advocacy around the South Bay for years, and this was something I felt really passionate about,” he said. “It alarmed me that this resource for the LGBTQ community was disappearing, so I wanted to help them.”
To raise the money, Jonah worked with Mimiaga to put together pitch decks. Working primarily on Zoom, he initially reached out to his family’s personal network — friends, neighbors, colleagues — and then expanded outward.
“Some people didn’t want to get involved, but a lot of people did,” Jonah said.
“And some people gave us connections,” he added, “so we reached out to those people.”
Not surprisingly, Jonah has subsequently become an instrumental member of the C-LARAH team. He is now an official research intern and has already co-authored his first academic paper (a feat that Mimiaga calls “unheard of for his age group”).
He is also in the midst of developing an independent research project on HIV and adolescent LGBTQ+ health disparities.
And that’s on top of high school, where he participates in Model U.N. and maintains an A average with an AP course load.
“It’s really remarkable; I just think so highly of him,” said Mimiaga, who is working with Jonah on his current research project. “He’s been incredible to work with.”
For those who know Jonah, it’s no surprise that this soft-spoken and approachable teen would mount such a monumental campaign.
An openly gay teen who came out in middle school, Jonah is active in LGBTQ+ advocacy and has spoken on PFLAG panels. He also started a Queer Advocacy Club at Mira Costa and interned for state Sen. Ben Allen, where he contributed research on LGBTQ+ policy issues.
He serves on the Beach Cities Health District Youth Advisory Council, where he advocates for issues affecting local youth, including equitable care, mental health and substance abuse prevention.
“This is my identity,” he said, adding that the Manhattan Beach community has been, for the most part, accepting of him and others in the LGBTQ community. “It took years of just living out my identity and realizing that, ‘Hey, this is something I don’t want to hide anymore. I don’t care who knows about it.’
“I want other LGBTQ teens around the South Bay,” he added, “to know that their experiences are valid and, like, you’re not alone.”
Philanthropy runs in the family. Jonah’s parents, James and Donné Segil, said they raised Jonah and his three brothers “on the Jewish values of tzedakah (charity) and tikkun olam (repairing the world).”
As a kid, Jonah spent many hours preparing and distributing basic-needs kits with The Giving Spirit, a nonprofit that provides aid to unhoused women, children and families across the Los Angeles area.
Suffice it to say, it’s easy to see why UCLA wants to keep him. And while he hasn’t nailed down his college plans, he said he may head to the East Coast for school.
“We would love to have him at UCLA, for sure,” Mimiaga said. “He’s definitely a leader in his age group. In terms of the next generation, he’s certainly going to be leading his peers.”
For more information about UCLA’s Center for LGBTQ Advocacy, Research and Health, go to lgbtq.ph.ucla.edu.