Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Announces 2010 Graduate Scholarship Recipients

June 18, 2010

Media Contact: Dana O'Neill

Jack Kent Cooke Foundation

44325 Woodridge Parkway

Lansdowne, VA 20176

(703) 723-8000; doneill@jkcf.org

 

 

Lansdowne, VA – The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation today announced the 35 recipients of the 2010 Graduate Scholarships, a select group of students who will be attending some of the best universities in the United States and Europe. 

 

The 2010 Class represents the ninth consecutive year the Foundation has provided Graduate Scholarships with the total number of alumni in the program now at 206. All the Cooke Scholars have distinguished themselves academically during their undergraduate career and all share a strong commitment to community service. In addition, this year all the Graduate Scholars were previous Foundation Scholarship awardees.

 

The members of the 2010 class of Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholars are an elite group. Seven Scholars have been associated with the Foundation since they were selected as Young Scholars while in junior high school and most of the others earned Undergraduate Transfer Scholarships from the Foundation.

 

The Graduate Scholarship program provides up to a total of $50,000 to assist these remarkable students reach their academic and professional goals. Most of the 2010 Graduate Scholars come from humble beginnings and many have faced challenges along the way.

 

The Graduate Scholars come from 20 states and 11 were born in foreign countries. A total of 11 Scholars are headed to medical school or will be seeking advanced degrees in health and science-related fields; seven will be studying engineering, architecture or technology; three will be attending law school; and the remainder will be in graduate programs in journalism, creative writing, education, art, music, political science, and social work.     ­­­­­­

 

“These Jack Kent Cooke Scholars are exceptional students who’ve been with us for quite a few years,” said the Foundation’s Executive Director, Lawrence Kutner, Ph.D. “This scholarship will remove the financial pressure on them and allow them to focus on what they do best.”

 

The Foundation now awards new Graduate Scholarships only to students who have already received an undergraduate scholarship from the Foundation. Details of the change in the program are available at http://www.jkcf.org/scholarships/graduate-scholarships/.

 

Some of the stand-outs in the 2010 class include:

 

Volha Charnysh, who left Belarus to attend a small Midwestern US community college. The Foundation’s Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship enabled her to attend one of the nation’s best liberal arts colleges. She has dedicated her life to nuclear disarmament and is editor of a publication for Belarusians in the United States.

 

Lauren Spiegel, one of the Foundation’s Young Scholars, watched her mother battle cancer at a very early age, became captivated with the medical profession, and will begin medical school in the fall.

 

Barbara Teed, now in her late 50s and a mother of four, decided to enroll in community college and discovered her love for writing and reporting the news. Her goal is to become an investigative journalist. 

 

About the Foundation

 

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is a private foundation dedicated to helping young people of exception 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.

 

 

Isa Adney, Lake Mary, FL

Undergraduate Institution: Stetson University

Graduate Institution: University of Illinois

 

Breiseus A. Ashford, Starkville, MS

Undergraduate Institution: Pepperdine University

Graduate Institution: University of New Orleans

 

Elizabeth Bair, Hillsboro, OR

Undergraduate Institution: Pacific University

Graduate Institution: Pacific University

 

Carla Baku, Eureka, CA

Undergraduate Institution: Stanford University

Graduate Institution: Warren Wilson College

 

Ulugbek Baymuradov, Stanford, CA (Karshi, Uzbekistan)

Undergraduate Institution: Stanford University

Graduate Institution: TBD

 

Rachel Brewer, Baltimore, MD (Windsor, Ontario, Canada)

Undergraduate Institution: Johns Hopkins University

Graduate Institution: University of Pennsylvania

 

Mikal C. Brotnov, New Kensington, PA

Undergraduate Institution: Clark University

Graduate Institution: Clark University

 

Volha Charnysh, Washington, DC (Grodno, Belarus)

Undergraduate Institution: Smith College

Graduate Institution: Harvard University

 

Velma C. Claypool, Rock Bridge, TN

Undergraduate Institution: Tennessee Technological University

Graduate Institution: Pikeville College

 

Katelynn S. DeLuca, Riverhead, NY

Undergraduate Institution: Stony Brook University

Graduate Institution: Stony Brook University

 

David J. Dutton, Bealeton, VA

Undergraduate Institution: University of Mary Washington

Graduate Institution: TBD

 

Katie Feldman, Middlesex, VT

Undergraduate Institution: Wesleyan University

Graduate Institution: Academy of Art University

 

Julia Handschuh, Northampton, MA

Undergraduate Institution: School of the Museum of Fine Arts

Graduate Institution: New York University

 

Melinda Hornback, Wabash, IN

Undergraduate Institution: Indiana Wesleyan University

Graduate Institution: University of Michigan

 

Maria Hutchinson, Philadelphia, PA

Undergraduate Institution: University of Pennsylvania

Graduate Institution: University of Pennsylvania

 

Dwayne O. Kelly, Bronx, NY

Undergraduate Institution: Fordham University

Graduate Institution: City University of New York School of Law

 

Andrew McAllister, Franklin, NC

Undergraduate Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Graduate Institution: New York Medical College

 

Michelle Mills, Pompano Beach, FL (Spanish Town, Jamaica)

Undergraduate Institution: University of Miami

Graduate Institution: Howard University

 

Michele Moore, Spokane, WA

Undergraduate Institution: Eastern Washington University

Graduate Institution: Washington State University

 

Dan Nechita, Arlington, VA (Cluj-Napoca, Romania)

Undergraduate Institution: Columbia University

Graduate Institution: George Washington University

 

Nasra G. Nimaga, San Diego, CA (Nairobi, Kenya)

Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Los Angeles

Graduate Institution: Princeton University

 

Farah Nousheen, Seattle, WA

Undergraduate Institution: University of Washington

Graduate Institution: University of New Mexico

 

Katsiaryna Pleshankova, Rochester, NY (Gomel, Belarus)

Undergraduate Institution: University of Rochester

Graduate Institution: University of Rochester

 

Brady Redfearn, Provo, UT

Undergraduate Institution: Brigham Young University

Graduate Institution: Brigham Young University

 

Joshua A. Ripple, Lewisburg, PA

Undergraduate Institution: Bucknell University

Graduate Institution: Bucknell University

 

Lauren Len Spiegel, Atlanta, GA

Undergraduate Institution: Emory University

Graduate Institution: Medical College of Georgia

 

Jason Stern, Arlington, VA

Undergraduate Institution: Clarkson University

Graduate Institution: TBD

 

Garland Tang, Los Angeles, CA

Undergraduate Institution: Occidental College

Graduate Institution: Tufts University

 

Peter Tascio, Bronxville, NY

Undergraduate Institution: City College of New York

Graduate Institution: New York University

 

Barbara Teed, Bloomington, MN

Undergraduate Institution: The New School

Graduate Institution: Hamline University

 

Ben Walker, Hollywood, FL

Undergraduate Institution: University of Colorado at Boulder

Graduate Institution: University of Colorado, Boulder

 

Graig Williams, Herndon, VA

Undergraduate Institution: Tuskegee University

Graduate Institution: TBD

 

Vanessa Wright, Moreno Valley, CA

Undergraduate Institution: University of Southern California

Graduate Institution: University of Southern California

 

Tianlu Yuan, Omaha, NE

Undergraduate Institution: Stanford University

Graduate Institution: University of Colorado, Boulder

 

Shaun Zhang, Oxford, GA

Undergraduate Institution: Georgia Institute of Technology

Graduate Institution: Georgetown University