Nate Marshall

Eighteen-year-old Nate Marshall has a passion for learning. A prolific writer of poetry and song, Nate is also a dynamic speaker and is not shy about performing in front of an audience. He participates in poetry slams and looks for every opportunity to perform in open-mic shows. Nate was also a member of his high school’s African-American Culture Club and is an avid basketball player.

As a Jack Kent Cooke Young Scholar, Nate continually sought out challenging and diverse opportunities to explore his many interests. He spent one summer participating in the Civic Leadership Institute at the Center for Talented Youth (CTY) at Johns Hopkins University. During the next summer, he participated in both the Junior Statesmen program at Georgetown University and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s Civic Week program. During his last summer of high school, Nate took a summer course in Journalism at Harvard University.

Nate’s first summer experience at CTY not only challenged him academically, but also gave him a new sense of possibility for his future. “It changed my whole way of thinking,” says Nate. “Intelligence is not something to conceal or something to be ashamed of. Since then I have learned to be proud of what I am and not try to hide it. It was probably the best experience I have ever had and it has had a great impact on the person that I am today.”

Nate also participated in the Foundation’s Advanced Mentoring Program, through which he was mentored by novelist Judy French. In 2008, Nate traveled with Judy to the prestigious Association for Writers and Writing Programs annual conference in New York City, where he met distinguished authors, poets, and teachers from around the world.

Nate’s many aspirations include leading a youth outreach program that emphasizes the written and spoken word and being a published author. Nate graduated in 2008 from a highly selective magnet high school in Chicago. He is now an undergraduate student at Vanderbilt University.

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