Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Announces 2009 Graduate Scholarship Recipients

September 21, 2009

Media Contact: Emily Froimson

Jack Kent Cooke Foundation

44325 Woodridge Parkway

Lansdowne, VA 20176

(703) 723-8000
 

Lansdowne VA – An aspiring novelist, a future physician committed to narrowing health care gaps in underserved communities, and a former homeless teenager seeking to empower poor people, are among 49 students awarded a graduate scholarship from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. The scholarships will provide up to $50,000 per year for up to six years to help extraordinary high-achieving, low-income students pursue graduate or professional degrees.  Many of the 2009 Graduate Scholars have been able to complete college because of the support of the Foundation’s Undergraduate Transfer and College Scholarship programs.

Completing a graduate degree has become an increasingly important step to professional and financial success. Nevertheless, low-income students face an especially difficult path to graduate school, a path that has become even more challenging to traverse in today’s economy. Only 29 percent of high-achieving, low-income college graduates receive graduate degrees, compared to 47 percent of high achievers from upper-income families.

As in past years, this year’s cohort of graduate Scholars is dedicated to public service. Nearly one quarter of the recipients plan to work in political science, international relations and development, economics, public policy, or sociology. One hopes to become India’s Finance Minister. Nearly 20 percent are seeking careers in medicine, medical anthropology, nursing, or public and global health.

“These students represent a generation of new leaders. At a time when getting advanced degrees is so critical to professional success, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is committed to helping exceptional students like these pursue their dreams so they can make a difference in the world.” says Foundation Executive Director Lawrence Kutner, Ph.D.

The 2009 Graduate Scholars hail from around the globe. Fifteen are international students from such places as Afghanistan, China, Vietnam, Nepal, Myanmar, India, Russia, Ecuador, and Nigeria. They will attend some of the world’s most prestigious graduate and professional schools including Harvard University, University of California, Los Angeles, New York University, Brown University, University of Oxford, and the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Among notable 2009 Graduate Scholars: 

Jarrad Aguirre, a 2009 Rhodes Scholar and former figure skater, watched his mother overcome breast cancer and a friend die of AIDS while receiving substandard care. Because of those experiences, Aguirre is committed to giving back to underserved communities and plans to complete a degree in medical anthropology, medicine, and public health.

Lalita Booth, a once-homeless teenager and single-mother, Booth is committed to serving the public good. While in college she founded a nonprofit organization that teaches financial literary to low-income learners, foster teens, and high school students. Booth is pursuing both an MBA and MPA at Harvard University so she can develop empowerment-based antipoverty initiatives.

Caitlin Cohen already has achieved more than many do in a lifetime, having created the Mali Health Organizing Project, a community-organized model clinic and health system. Cohen plans to pursue a medical degree at Brown University so she can continue to promote primary health care development in West Africa.

Emily R. Adelman, Delray Beach, FL

Jarrad Aguirre, Denver, CO

William Allen, Unionville, MI

Channa A. Amarasekera, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Barbara J. Ault, Versailles, IN

Le L. Aye, Yangon, Myanmar

Projesh Banerjea, Kolkata, India

Lalita D. Booth, Asheville, NC

Lance W. Chapman, Woodburn, IN

Joel W. Charles, Green Bay, WI

Caitlin L. Cohen, Westminster Station, VT

Joan M. Danenberg, San Jose, CA

Alexandra DiFulvio, St. Charles, IL

Dusty E. Dodd, Roseburg, OR

Esmeralda Duran, Fort Worth, TX

Starlight M. Fonseca, Hastings, NE

Heather M. Hansen, Springfield, MO

Emily C. Hedin, Hopkins, MN

Adam T. Hockensmith, Hagerstown, MD

Nicole L. Hurtado, Beaverton, OR

Juwarat A. Kadiri, Benin City, Nigeria

Shrochis Karki, Biratnagar, Nepal

Scott B. Keller, Mattoon, IL

Brittney A. Kulbeda, North Wales, PA

April L. Ledbetter, Laguna Niguel, CA

Jiaxi Liu, Chongqing, China

Kuong C. Ly, Woburn, MA

Daniela C. Martinez, Quito, Ecuador

Michelle J. McLeod, North Haven, CT

Jose F. Medina, Cuenca, Ecuador

Miquell O. Miller, Abaco, Bahamas

Alexey V. Morozov, St. Petersburg, Russia

Lucy V. Morrow, Chicago, IL

Katherine Naegele, Tempe, AZ

Jan M. Nerenberg, Astoria, OR

Adeola O. Oni-Orisan, Ypsilanti, MI

Marcus B. Ostermiller, Denver, CO

Peter Pindjak, Bratislava, Slovakia

Asad Rahim, Chicago, IL

Frank Sabatini, III, Exeter, PA

Huma Saeed, Kabul, Afghanistan

Benjamin D. Schanker, Rockville, MD

McStephen O. Solomon, Lagos, Nigeria

Carla J. Sutherland, Winnipeg, Canada

Elizabeth K. Thomas, Independence, MO

Diego A. Urrego, Ontario, CA

Kristina R. Weaver, Marion, IN

Kayla R. Whitaker, Mount Sterling, KY

Olga Yarychkivska, Nadvirna, Ukraine

 

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is a private foundation dedicated to helping young people of exceptional promise reach their full potential through education. The Foundation provides challenging opportunities to high achievers from lower-income families through its Young Scholars Program, generous scholarships for undergraduate and graduate study, and grants to nonprofit organizations and educational institutions.