Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Announces Nation's Largest Scholarships for Community College Students

Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
44325 Woodridge Parkway
Lansdowne, VA 20176
 

News Release

May 9, 2006
Media Contact: Joe Sutherland
Office: 301-652-1558 ext. 215
jsutherland@burnesscommunications.com 

Foundation Supports High Achievers with Financial Need;
Nearly 200 Students Have Now Received Undergraduate Scholarships

LANSDOWNE, VA - As the number of students attending community colleges nationwide continues to rise, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation today announces another step in its effort to increase access to the best two-year college students to complete their four-year degrees. Specifically, the Foundation has selected 38 students to receive one of the largest and most competitive scholarships available to undergraduates in America.

The Undergraduate Transfer Jack Kent Cooke Scholars are currently attending or have recently completed course work at two-year institutions. The awards will provide scholarship for these 38 students to transfer to four-year colleges and universities and complete their bachelors' degrees.

The amount and duration of the scholarships will vary by student based on the cost of attendance or grants received, but the awards can total up to $30,000 per year for each student.

The Undergraduate Transfer scholarship recipients come from 17 states and eight foreign nations, including Belarus, Vietnam, Ecuador, Jamaica, Palestine, Bhutan, Romania and China. They were selected from among 676 nominees from approximately 438 community or two-year colleges nationwide.

The Scholars were selected by the Foundation with assistance from a national panel of experts. Selection criteria include academic excellence, financial need, will to succeed, leadership ability, service to others, and interest in or appreciation for the arts.

"The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation was founded to support high achieving students with financial need," said Matthew J. Quinn, the Foundation's executive director. "We hope these scholarships will allow the students the opportunity to fulfill their educational goals and become the individuals they aspire to be."

"The transfer scholarship programs provided by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation continue to set the bar, both for their generosity and their impact. The scholarships not only allow promising community college students to pursue their academic dreams without financial barriers, but they also make a statement about the tremendous pool of talent transfer students from two-year institutions represent," said Dr. George R. Boggs, President and CEO of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC).

Community colleges continue to grow and now enroll 46% of all undergraduates in the United States, including the majority of low- to moderate-income students, according to statistics from the AACC. Currently there are 6.6 million students who attend U.S. community colleges for credit.

Of the 38 Scholars, more than half (32) are members of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society of two-year colleges.

The 38 nominees bring to 199 the number of students who have received the undergraduate scholarships since the Foundation first offered them in 2002. The program offers support for tuition, room and board, books, and other required fees for the remainder of the Scholars' bachelor's degree, generally two or three years.

The recipients include

• Kamal Abuarquob, who departed his small village in Palestine when he was 18 to accept a college scholarship. In a story that Hollywood would love, Kamal first taught himself English through movies, music and watching newscasts on television. One of 18 children, he has distinguished himself at Henry Ford Community College in Michigan and is planning on transferring to Wayne State University.
   
• Jessica Dawkins was in her mid-20s when she started college. She had just been "downsized" at work and she and her 16-month-old child faced some hard realities. A friend encouraged here to enroll at Jefferson Community and Technical College in Kentucky and she thrived academically while working three part-time jobs. She's now heading for the University of Louisville with her eventual goal being a doctorate degree in History.
   
• Laura Coleman's love for science began as a little girl in Brunswick, GA. A microscope she received for Christmas helped her decide very early in life what she hoped to do. Laura, 19, is headed for Tulane University where she will take the next steps in becoming a psychotherapist.

Current students at community colleges in the United States who wish to apply for the 2007 Undergraduate Transfer Scholarships should contact their faculty representatives for information about the next competition. The application deadline will be announced in October 2006.

The awards follow an announcement last month by the Foundation and eight colleges and universities to invest $27 million to increase the opportunities for high-achieving low-income community college students to earn bachelor's degrees from selective four-year institutions.

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. It focuses in particular on students with financial need. Besides the Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship Program, the Foundation's programs also include scholarships to graduate and high school students, and grants to organizations that serve high-achieving students with financial need. www.jkcf.org

Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship Program
2006 Scholars

Kamal Y. Abuarquob
Hometown: Dura-Hebron/West Bank, Palestine
Community College: Henry Ford Community College (Dearborn, MI)
Intended Four-Year College: Wayne State University

Vanessa R. Banks-Gonzales
Hometown: Richmond, VA
Community College: Lee College (Houston, TX)
Intended Four-Year College: University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston

Yvonne Bird
Hometown: Fall River, MA
Community College: Bristol Community College (Fall River, MA)
Intended Four-Year College: Amherst College

Cindy K. Blount
Hometown: Kannapolis, NC
Community College: Blue Ridge Community College (Flat Rock, NC)
Intended Four-Year College: University of North Carolina-Asheville

Lalita D. Booth
Hometown: Asheville, NC
Community College: Seminole Community College (Sanford, FL)
Intended Four-Year College: University of Central Florida

Linda D. Circelli
Hometown: Cypress, CA
Community College: Cypress College (Cypress, CA)
Intended Four-Year College: University of Southern California

Velma C. Claypool
Hometown: Rock Bridge, TN
Community College: Brevard Community College (Cocoa, FL)
Intended Four-Year College: University of Central Florida

Laura S. Coleman
Hometown: Jonesboro, GA
Community College: Coastal Georgia Community College (Brunswick, GA)
Intended Four-Year College: Tulane University

Jessica B. Dawkins
Hometown: Lafayette, IN
Community College: Jefferson Community and Technical College (Louisville, KY)
Intended Four-Year College: University of Louisville

Anna R. DeGolier
Hometown: Mogilev, Belarus
Community College: Normandale Community College (Bloomington, MN)
Intended Four-Year College: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Tyra J. Dela Cruz
Hometown: Aiea, HI
Community College: University of Hawaii Honolulu Community College (HI)
Intended Four-Year College: University of Hawaii-Manoa

Esmeralda Duran
Hometown: Fort Worth, TX
Community College: Tarrant County College (Fort Worth, TX)
Intended Four-Year College: Florida International University

Ivy J. Fitzgerald
Hometown: Hood River, OR
Community College: Cottey College (Nevada, MO)
Intended Four-Year College: Randolph Macon Women's College

Morgan Ironplow
Hometown: Eugene, OR
Community College: Lane Community College (Eugene OR)
Intended Four-Year College: Western Oregon State University

Dwayne O. Kelly
Hometown: Spanish Town, Jamaica
Community College: Westchester Community College (NY)
Intended Four-Year College: Fordham University

Daniela C. Martinez
Hometown: Quito, Ecuador
Community College: Baltimore City Community College (MD)
Intended Four-Year College: Johns Hopkins University

Cheryl-Lynn May
Hometown: Mundelein, IL
Community College: Oakton Community College (Des Plaines, IL)
Intended Four-Year College: Lake Forest College

Sally-Anne McDonnell
Hometown: Deerfield Beach, FL
Community College: Broward Community College-Downtown (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Intended Four-Year College: University of Florida

Jose F. Medina
Hometown: Cuenca, Ecuador
Community College: Essex County College (Newark, NJ)
Intended Four-Year College: New Jersey Institute of Technology

Lara F. Miller
Hometown: Dalton, MA
Community College: Berkshire Community College (Pittsfield, MA)
Intended Four-Year College: Smith College

Dan F. Nechita
Hometown: Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Community College: Northern Virginia Community College (VA)
Intended Four-Year College: Yale University

Jan M. Nerenberg
Hometown: Astoria, OR
Community College: Clatsop Community College (Astoria, OR)
Intended Four-Year College: Portland State University

Farah Nousheen
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Community College: North Seattle Community College (WA)
Intended Four-Year College: University of Washington

Denise C. Olivas
Hometown: Chandler, AZ
Community College: Chandler-Gilbert Community College (Chandler, AZ)
Intended Four-Year College: Arizona State University

Teveria C. Parks
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Community College: Georgia Perimeter College (Atlanta, GA)
Intended Four-Year College: Agnes Scott College

Yeshey Pelzom
Hometown: Kanglan, Bhutan
Community College: LaGuardia Community College/CUNY (New York, NY)
Intended Four-Year College: Agnes Scott College

Pedro Perez
Hometown: Mountrie, GA
Community College: Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (Tifton, GA)
Intended Four-Year College: Georgia Institute of Technology

Quang A. Phung
Hometown: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Community College: San Diego Mesa College (CA)
Intended Four-Year College: University of California-San Diego

Kaitlyn E. Pickering
Hometown: Richmond, VA
Community College: Fisher College (Boston, MA)
Intended Four-Year College: University of Texas at Austin

Stacey L. Snodgrass
Hometown: Bourbonnais, IL
Community College: Kankakee Community College (Kankakee, IL)
Intended Four-Year College: University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign

Elizabeth K. Thomas
Hometown: San Jose, CA
Community College: Longview Community College (Kansas City, MO)
Intended Four-Year College: Graceland University

Rosalie F. Tucker
Hometown: Eugene, OR
Community College: Portland Community College (OR)
Intended Four-Year College: University of California at Los Angeles

Kristina R. Weaver
Hometown: Marion, IN
Community College: Lake Land College (Mattoon, IL)
Intended Four-Year College: University of Indianapolis

Tadd A. Wheeler
Hometown: Weiser, ID
Community College: Lower Columbia College (Longview, WA)
Intended Four-Year College: University of Washington

Latisha Wilson
Hometown: Baltimore, MD
Community College: Manchester Community College (Manchester, CT)
Intended Four-Year College: New York University

Amanda A. Wood
Hometown: Palmdale, CA
Community College: Monroe Community College (Rochester, NY)
Intended Four-Year College: SUNY College at Geneseo

Tracy-Ying Zhang
Hometown: Chengdu, China
Community College: Highline Community College (Seattle, WA)
Intended Four-Year College: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Jolyn N. Zwemer
Hometown: Frannie, WY
Community College: Central Wyoming College (Riverton, WY)
Intended Four-Year College: University of Wyoming