2007 College Scholarships

Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
44325 Woodridge Parkway
Lansdowne, VA  20176

News Release

Media Contact:  Vance Lancaster
Director, Marketing and Communications
Office: (703) 723-8000
vlancaster@jkcf.org

Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Announces
2007 College Scholarships:

From Bioengineering to Ballet,
46 Talented Low-Income High School Students Tapped for Top College Award

"When I start to doubt myself, remembering that the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation believes in me and is on my side renews my drive and motivates me to keep shooting for the stars" - Peter Dugan, Upper Darby, PA

"Being a Young Scholar has opened so many doors for me, and, interestingly enough, they were not all academic doors"- Molly Christian, San Antonio, TX

LANSDOWNE, VA (May 17, 2007) - The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is pleased to introduce its 2007 College Scholarship recipients, 46 high-achieving high-school students who have overcome economic adversity to prepare themselves for some of the nation's top colleges. Even as more applications poured into top schools than in any previous year, nearly one-third of the scholarship recipients will head to Ivy League schools. At least six of the scholarship recipients will attend Harvard, with three heading to Stanford, and two each to Yale, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania. Other Cooke College Scholars will attend Georgetown, Julliard, Wellesley, Dartmouth, Brown, and the University of Chicago.

"The educational opportunities that we provide during high school through our Young Scholars Program coupled with funding for college makes it possible for lower-income students to realize their potential-this is especially important given the rapidly-escalating costs of higher education," said Dr. Matthew J. Quinn, the Foundation's executive director. "These are exceptional kids. We have been working closely with them since the 8th grade to nurture their talents and help them identify and develop what they would most like to accomplish in their lives."

Drawn from the Foundation's groundbreaking Young Scholars Program, the College Scholarship recipients have excelled academically throughout junior high and high school. When all is said and done, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation may well have supported and helped these students for as many as 15 years, with an investment of between $100,000 to $500,000 each depending on the Scholar's need and other scholarships that the Foundation can help them secure.

The Scholars display a wide range of interests and experiences:

• Jaehyun Im balanced research in molecular biology with trumpet lessons at Juilliard.
• While pursuing her career goal of becoming a constitutional lawyer, Katherine Walecka has won prizes for her poetry and excelled in rugby.
• Committed to a career in law, Prateek Kumar has also attended MIT's Research Science Institute and interned at the Yale Daily News.
• Growing up loving fine arts, Janiece Kelly developed a new passion for biomedical engineering in the tenth grade.

Recently hailed as "the Nobel Prize for 7th Graders" by the San Antonio Express-News, the Foundation's Young Scholars Program is the pre-eminent opportunity in the US for high-potential high-school students whose families have limited financial resources. After selecting the Scholars, the Foundation provides them with the educational support and guidance they need to excel-including an educational adviser, high-end computers and Internet access, and supplementary educational services such as summer enrichment programs and music lessons.

"This unprecedented approach is clearly working," adds Quinn. "These young people are on track to be leaders in their fields and are certain to make a difference."

"Like a guiding beacon, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation has been a steady, calm voice beside me; a voice reminding me that yes, indeed, I can reach farther and higher and achieve more than I can dream," says Tanner Mathison of Plymouth, NH. "Beyond funding, the Foundation offered me counsel, confidence, connections and a vision to a future I had never dreamed was within my reach."

The 2007 College Scholarship recipients are:

Anguel Alexiev
Hometown: Granada Hills, CA
Intended Undergraduate Institution: California Institute of Technology

Ryan Baril
Hometown: Eau Claire, WI
Intended Undergraduate Institution: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Kenneth Brewer
Hometown: Provo, UT
Intended Undergraduate Institution:  Harvard University

Julian-Israel Canizares
Hometown: Rockville, MD
Intended Undergraduate Institution:  Coast Guard Academy

Ola Canty
Hometown: Washington, DC
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Harvard University
 
Molly Christian 
Hometown: San Antonio, TX
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Barnard College

Paul Dandridge
Hometown: King William, VA
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Indiana University

Peter Dugan
Hometown: Upper Darby, PA
Intended Undergraduate Institution: The Juilliard School

Sean Eagan
Hometown: Cameron, WV
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Bucknell University

Maria Frendberg
Hometown: Clarkston, MI
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Miles Goldman
Hometown: Wyomissing, PA
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Brown University

Katelyn Goll
Hometown: Lac du Flambeau, WI
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Connecticut College

Rhiana Gunn-Wright
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Yale University

Emily Hudson
Hometown: Monmouth, IL
Intended Undergraduate Institution: University of Iowa

Jaehyun Im
Hometown: Closter, NJ
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Harvard University

Elissa Jennings
Hometown: Smyrna, TN
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Harvard University 

Samuel Johnson
Hometown: Burlington, WI
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Northwestern University

Daniel Jung
Hometown: Houston, TX
Intended Undergraduate Institution: University of Texas Plan II Honors Program

Janiece Kelly
Hometown: San Antonio, TX
Intended Undergraduate Institution: University of Pennsylvania

Prateek Kumar
Hometown: Latham, NY
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Harvard University

Bryan Lee
Hometown: Falls Church, VA
Intended Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Berkeley

Rachel Love
Hometown: Palm Bay, FL
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Johns Hopkins University

Neveen Mahmoud
Hometown: Aldan, PA
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Stanford University

Tanner Mathison
Hometown: Plymouth, NH
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Dartmouth College

Sang-Hee Min
Hometown: Redmond, WA
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Wellesley College

Michael Motola-Barnes
Hometown: Tacoma, WA
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Tufts University

Tess Mulder
Hometown: Pittsburg, PA
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Lesley University

Carl Nelson
Hometown: Redford, MI
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Rice University

Emann Odufu
Hometown: Newark, NJ
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Sarah Lawrence College

Gregory Peterson
Hometown: Park Ridge, IL
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Lawrence University

Dai-Minh Phan
Hometown: Washington, DC
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Stanford University

Alexandria Puderbaugh 
Hometown: Concordia, KS
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Baker University

Larissa Rymko
Hometown: Farmington Hills, MI
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Loyola University

Sade Scott
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Hampton University

John Scrutado
Hometown: Califon, NJ
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Yale University

Joseph Simmons
Hometown: Irving, TX
Intended Undergraduate Institution: University of Dallas

Seth Swingle
Hometown: Stanardsville, VA
Intended Undergraduate Institution: University of Chicago

Karis Tang-Quan
Hometown: Palos Verdes, CA
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Stanford University

Pengtao Teng
Hometown: Tampa, FL
Intended Undergraduate Institution: University of Pennsylvania

Marisela Trevino
Hometown: San Antonio, TX
Intended Undergraduate Institution: University of Texas at Austin

Warren Van Nus
Hometown: Lawrenceville, GA
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Georgia Institute of Technology

Katherine Walecka
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Harvard University

Dustin Walker
Hometown: Santa Clarita, CA
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Georgetown University

Megan Wong
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Princeton University

Brian Wu
Hometown: Vienna, VA
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Shaun Zhang
Hometown: Carrollton, GA
Intended Undergraduate Institution: Washington University


To learn more about the Cooke College Scholarships or the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, please contact Vance Lancaster at vlancaster@jackkentcookefoundation.org or 703.723.8000.

About the Foundation
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is a private, independent foundation established in 2000 by the estate of Jack Kent Cooke to help young people of exceptional promise reach their full potential through education. In addition to the Young Scholars Program, the Foundation's programs for outstanding students with financial need also include full scholarships for graduate and professional schools, as well as scholarships for students from community colleges who want to earn four-year degrees.