Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Announces Semifinalists for Prestigious Cooke College Scholarship Program

A large group of students stands outside wearing college t-shirts.

Lansdowne, VA – The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation announced the selection of 477 high school seniors as semifinalists for the prestigious Cooke College Scholarship Program. This highly selective scholarship provides high-achieving students with financial need up to $40,000 annually for four years of college, to enable them to attend a top college or university.

The semifinalists were chosen from a pool of over 5,300 applicants. Approximately 60 semifinalists will be selected to receive the scholarship. The 2020 Cooke College Scholarship recipients will be announced in April.

“These semifinalists represent some of the most passionate, driven, and hard-working students across the country,” said Executive Director Seppy Basili. “It is an honor to recognize these semifinalists for their persistence and achievements.”

Students applied from all 50 states, as well as Washington, DC and Puerto Rico — representing 402 schools. A list of the semifinalists can be found below.

Learn more about the College Scholarship Program here and sign up to be notified when next year’s application opens in August 2020.

Cooke College Scholars are selected based on exceptional academic ability and achievement, financial need, persistence, service to others and leadership. Students must be current high school seniors residing in the United States. Scholarships are awarded without respect to religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship status, geographic region, race or ethnicity.

 

Alabama

Marielle Baumgartner — Bob Jones High School
Jayda Fair — Ohatchee High School
Caden Grider — Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School
Icie Wriley — South Lamar School

 

Alaska

Rachael Shaw-Rosenbaum — West Anchorage High School

 

Arizona

Amber Chow — BASIS Peoria
Melanie Delgado Santacruz — Phoenix Union Bioscience High School
Isabella Fox — BASIS Tucson North
Fawaz Ghannam — Walden Grove High School
Demitrious Matus — Dobson High School
Chur Tam — Basis Ahwatukee
Issac Valenzuela — Nogales High School

 

Arkansas

Meghan Boen — Springdale School of Innovation
Anh Cao — Bentonville High School
Amanda Carson — Arkansas School for Mathematics and Science
Caitlin England — Arkansas School for Mathematics and Science
Toño Mendez — Green Forest High School
Anshuman Nandy — Haas Hall Academy
Astrid Rodriguez — Van Buren High School

 

California

Alex Abarca — Claremont High School
Mazen Abouelela — Woodrow Wilson High School
Monique Acuna — Brawley Union High School
Sekinat Aliu — Chadwick School
Heber Alvarez — Eastside College Preparatory School
Santiago Alvillar — South El Monte High School
Meezy Anderson — Summit Public School K2
Melanie Armella — Del Campo High School
Mariela Barrales — James A Garfield High School
Jared Bautista — South High School
Ozzy Cabrales — James A Garfield High School
Lani Camuro — Bishop’s School
Yolanda Carrion — South East High School
Francesca Ezra Casimiro — El Cerrito High School
Esperanza Castro — Centennial High School
Milo Chang — John A Rowland High School
Mia Chen — Lowell High School
Kelly Chen — Lynbrook High School
Lauren Chong — Woodbridge High School
Karen Chung — Northwood High School
Sebastian Contreras — San Ysidro High School
Bunnie Cortez — Cathedral City High School
Jessica Costescu — Cypress High School
Metzli Cruz — Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez Learning Center: 1A
Xenia Dela Cueva — Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School
Han Dinh — Summit Public School-Tahoma
Jonathan Donis — STEM Academy Of Hollywood
Michelle Fox-Romero — Hilltop High School
Eileen Garcia — North Hollywood High School
Justice Gardner — Bishop O’Dowd High School
Nicolas Ghaffary — John Marshall High School
Luis Gomez — Los Altos High School
Angelica Gonzalez — The Archer School for Girls
Franklin Guevara — Middle College High School
Quon Howery — University High School
Jeremy Hsiao — California School of the Arts – San Gabriel Valley
Erica Hsueh — Northwood High School
Kenny Hua — Rialto High School
Gerardo Hurtado — Chaffey High School
Claire Im — Stockdale High School
D’Andre Jorge — Mission Hills High School
Maisha Khanum — Magnolia Science Academy – 1 Reseda
Patrick Kim — North Hollywood High School
Ricky Lam — Oakland Technical High School
Vanessa Lechuga — Will C Wood High School
Jamie Lee — Granada Hills Charter High School
Abby Leyva — Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School
Lizbeth Luevano — La Quinta High School
Katherine Maddison — El Camino High School
Evelyn Marquez — Marco Antonio Firebaugh High School
Rickey McGregor — Saint Bernard High School
Lia Mimun — El Dorado High School
Miguel Moya — Richmond High School
Carmen Muniz-Almaguer — Hollywood High School
Genesis Nam — John Marshall High School
Donovan Nelson — La Sierra High School
Stephanie Nguyen — Preuss School UCSD
Kim Nguyen — Los Amigos High School
Evelyn Paniagua — Santa Fe High School
Tammy Pham — Etiwanda High School
Warren Quan — Lowell High School
Isha Rajput — Henry M Gunn High School
Madison Ramirez — Alverno High School
Cris Ramirez Morales — Santa Maria High School
Kathy Ramirez-Gijon — Dos Pueblos High School
Nicha Rattanabut — California Academy of Mathematics and Science
Jacob Rodriguez — El Modena High School
Yomna Shousha — Fairfax High School
Theo Siasat — Herbert Hoover High School
Luciana Soria-Robles — Van Nuys High School
Sarah Tran — Granada Hills Charter High School
Suna Yimer — Abraham Lincoln High School
Alvin Yu — Walnut High School
Rachel Zila Hidalgo — STEM Academy Of Hollywood

 

Colorado

Ananda Birungi — Thornton High School
Rifat Emam — Overland High School
Becca Erdenebulgan — KIPP Denver Northeast Leadership Academy
Katie Finell — Rangeview High School
Kimberly Marfo — Smoky Hill High School
Irie Sentner — Durango High School
Makenna Turner — Peak to Peak Charter School
Paulina Ursua Garcia — Saint Mary’s Academy High School

 

Connecticut

Syed Ali — The Academy of Science and Innovation
Daelle Coriolan — West Haven High School

 

Delaware

Whitney Grinnage-Cassidy — Ursuline Academy

 

District of Columbia

Sosi Gebremichael — Benjamin Banneker Academic High School
Alexis Jones — Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School

 

Florida

Marian Abuhazi — Miami Beach Senior High School
Nathalie Acosta — Coral Reef Senior High School
Daniela Alayon — School for Advanced Studies Homestead
Keyanah Alexis — Oxbridge Academy of the Palm Beaches
Kris Alzugaray — Cutler Bay Academy of Advanced Studies
William An — F W Springstead High School
Natalia Artz — Hillsborough High School
Christopher Badillo — School for Advanced Studies – South
Jessica Balbin — John A. Ferguson Senior High School
Kaniya Battle — College Academy at Broward Community College
Daniella Berrospi — Coral Gables Senior High School
Fernando Bravo — School for Advanced Studies – Wolfson
Octavio Calvo — Mater Lakes Academy High School
Rashel Chipi — Coral Reef Senior High School
Ana Lucia Ciro — William R Boone High School
Haley Damon — Rutherford High School
Michele Di Bari — Cedar Key High School
Lisa Dong — Lehigh Senior High School
Nathanie Doralus — Wekiva High School
Thomas Escudero — Charles W Flanagan High School
Jayla Fairley — All Saints Academy
Nico Fernandez — J W Mitchell High School
Vivian Garcia — Young Women’s Preparatory Academy
Gedeon Guercin — Oak Ridge High School
Luis Guevara-Flores — Pine View School
Zahra Hassan — College Academy at Broward Community College
Rohan Jakhete — South Fork High School
Hassan Javed — Avon Park High School
Joey Jung — Lincoln High School
Emily Kim — Bartram Trail High School
Heavyn Lee — Miami Beach Senior High School
Elizabeth Lekah — Spanish River Community High School
Mauricio Loayza-Renzo — Ben Gamla Preparatory Academy
Scarleth Meggs — Young Women’s Preparatory Academy
Camila Moreda — International Studies Charter High School
Kesia Oliveros — Doral Academy Charter High School
Sofia Paredes — Miami Country Day School
Dubraska Robles — College Academy at Broward Community College
Rita Rodriguez — G Holmes Braddock High School
Joel Sabando — School for Advanced Studies – Wolfson
Mena Selvanik — Nova High School
Foje Tendoh — School for Advanced Studies – North
Evon Thompson — Evans High School
Michelle Zapata Riveros — American Heritage School Plantation
Valeria Zuluaga-Sanchez — St Francis Catholic High School

 

Georgia

Tameem Asif — Gwinnett School of Mathematics Science and Technology
Shamel Basaria — Gwinnett School of Mathematics Science and Technology
De’Anya Bell — John S Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School
Eletria Biswas — Statesboro High School
Yassine Bouanani — Gwinnett School of Mathematics Science and Technology
Sage Crystian — New Manchester High School
Bryan Cueva — Jordan Vocational High School
Ella Elbeck — Woodstock High School
Adebukola Fetuga — South Cobb High School
Benjamin Giglio — Howard High School
Joi Gordon — Lovejoy High School
Kaitlyn Jung — Northview High School
Emily Kim — Gwinnett School of Mathematics Science and Technology
Roksana Klasa — Peachtree Ridge High School
Liah Lawson — Henry W Grady High School
Shayla Nguyen — Mountain View High School
Piero Orderique — Columbus High School
David Palmer — Central Gwinnett High School
Niki Patterson — Brooks County High School
Xavier Shankle — Banneker High School
Davin Shi — Gwinnett School of Mathematics Science and Technology
Vivian Tong — Campbell High School
Katie Grace Upchurch — Clarke Central High School
Genesis Velasco — Morrow High School
David Woods — Tallulah Falls School

 

Hawaii

Kevin Cheng — President Theodore Roosevelt High School
Anna Wu — Maryknoll High School

 

Illinois

Karla Avalos — Argo Community High School
Olamide Babayeju — Northside College Preparatory High School
Ena Basic — Walter Payton College Preparatory High School
Cristian Carpio — Walter Payton College Preparatory High School
Trishia Cueto — Westmont High School
Penelope De La Torre — Harlem Senior High School
Kayla Huang — Whitney M Young Magnet High School
Oluwakemi Johnson — Marian Catholic High School
Daisy Jungo — Whitney M Young Magnet High School
Habib Kouria — Elmwood Park High School
Valery Lopez — Palatine High School
Rachael Patterson — Northside College Preparatory High School
Luke Prairie — Momence Community High School
Cassie Rausch — Crystal Lake South High School
Samantha Reyes — John Hancock High School
Daniel Salgado-Alvarez — Elk Grove High School
Narvella Sefah — Yorkville High School
Allie Swain — Whitney M Young Magnet High School
Jamal Turner — Walter Payton College Preparatory High School

 

Indiana

Anna Eggers — Ben Davis High School
Mylee Grounds — Center Grove High School
Alexa Orozco — Plymouth High School
Austin Roy — Martinsville High School

 

Iowa

Meghan Cantu — Ottumwa High School
Bashar Eid — Roosevelt High School

 

Kansas

Cory Johnson — Chase County High School
Shruthi Venkatachalam — Blue Valley Northwest High School

 

Kentucky

Abigail Dixon — Hopkins County Central High School
Molly Eby — Bethlehem High School
Sarthak Lohani — Henry Clay High School

 

Louisiana

Isaac Broussard — Alfred M Barbe High School
Olivia Howard — Patrick F. Taylor Science and Technology Academy
Kevin Lu — Benjamin Franklin High School

 

Maryland

Hannah Ajibola — Walter Johnson High School
Michelle Castro Lemus — Baltimore Polytechnic Institute
Stephanie Estrella — Springbrook High School
Mia Hofman — Mclean School Of Maryland
Alexandra Mouangue — Mount Hebron High School
Darlin Paredes Hernandez — High Point High School
Rachel Robinson — River Hill High School
Mahir Sudad — Springbrook High School
Betel Tenna — Colonel Zadok Magruder High School
Diana Tran — Perry Hall High School
Jared Zheng — Academy Of Health Sciences At PGCC

 

Massachusetts

Ahmed Alananzeh — Everett High School
Francisco Alicandri — Drury High School
Ashley Alvarez — Phillips Academy
Jerry Curran — Sturgis Charter Public School East
Maryam Dar — Cambridge Rindge and Latin School
Zev Dickstein — Cambridge Rindge and Latin School
Destin Fernandes — KIPP Academy Lynn Collegiate
Mena Kassa — Community Charter School of Cambridge
Oulaya Louaddi — Revere High School
Julia Nguyen — Bancroft School
Irura Nyiha — Phillips Academy

 

Michigan

Hilary Adeleke — Warren Mott High School
Mariah Barrera — City High Middle School
Alexis Camarena — Western International High School
Autumn Dorsey — Lakeview High School
Ibrahim Elsadek — East Lansing High School
Jacob Herman — Berrien Springs High School
Laila Nasher — Universal Academy
Adria Nyarko — Harry S Truman High School

 

Minnesota

Lap Nguyen — John Marshall High School
John Nguyen — Harding High School

 

Mississippi

Sophia Chung — Northwest Rankin High School
Minhyuk Kim — NorthStar Academy

 

Missouri

Fiona Beta — Lindbergh High School
Kenzi Bustamante — Eldon High School
Dillon Dodge — Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School
Grace Knight Garcia — Lincoln College Preparatory Academy
Raj Pandya — Warren County R-III Senior High School
Howard Phan — Farmington Senior High School
John Yoo — David H Hickman High School

 

Montana

Ellie Ayers — Polson High School
Justin Tofflemire — Capital High School

 

Nebraska

Emily Briones — Lexington High School
Ahmed Darfur — Lincoln North Star High School
Benjamin Soria — Kearney High School

 

Nevada

Tim Caudell — West Career and Technical Academy
Mercedes Moore — The Meadows School
Jailene Ramos — Canyon Springs High School and The Leadership and Law Preparatory Academy
Kanokwan Tungkitkancharoen — Ed W Clark High School

 

New Jersey

Raza Abbas — Egg Harbor Township High School
Luna Aguilar — Morristown High School
Katie Gorman — Moorestown High School
Ashley Kim — Bergen County Academies
Sarah Ramberran — North Star Academy Charter School of Newark
Anaiah Thomas — Bergen County Academies
Bryan Ventura — New Brunswick High School
Kitty Zheng — Egg Harbor Township High School
Vicky Zheng — Egg Harbor Township High School

 

New York

Joey Arias — New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math High School
Shola Babalola — Westbury High School
Justin Cange — Valley Stream South High School
Marlene Cardoza — KIPP NYC College Prep High School
Tina Chen — Stuyvesant High School
Jeffrey Chen — Stuyvesant High School
Amy Chen — Guilderland High School
Amy Ding — Brooklyn Technical High School
Stephen Dong — Kingston High School
Caitlin Doyle — Ballston Spa High School
Youssef El Mosalami — Brooklyn Technical High School
Mahmoud Elghayesh — Brooklyn Technical High School
Andrea Fernandez — Chapin School
Reuben Goldstein — Yeshivah of Flatbush
Lindsay Guerrero — Friends Seminary
Matt Halber — Eastport South Manor Junior-Senior High School
Youssef Hasweh — Fort Hamilton High School
Maya Holtham — Brooklyn Friends School
Jennifer Jiang — Townsend Harris High School
Trinity Kellarakos — Valley Stream Central High School
Lana Khanin — Leon M Goldstein High School for Sciences
Khushant Khurana — Queens High School For the Sciences at York College
Kyle Lambert — George Washington Carver High School For The Sciences
William Lin — Stuyvesant High School
Irene Madrigal — Berkeley Carroll School
Abdullah Mahdi — New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math High School
Jessy Mei — Stuyvesant High School
Rosalía Minyety Valdez — Frank McCourt High School
Tenzin Namgyal — Bard High School Early College II
Kimani Panthier — Academy Charter School
Swara Patel — Herricks Senior High School
Alex Pena — Kew Forest School
Kaustubh Prabhakar — Brooklyn Technical High School
Marvia Pressoir — Elmont Memorial Junior-Senior High School
Ken Soe — Stuyvesant High School
Tiffani Torres — Pace High School
Hedy Tung — Stuyvesant High School
Saul Vargas — KIPP NYC College Prep High School
Kelvin Vuong — Stuyvesant High School
Su Su Wai — Brooklyn Technical High School
Anna Xiao — Long Beach Senior High School
Jen Yakubov — Midwood High School at Brooklyn College
Kristophe Yen — Democracy Preparatory Charter School

 

North Carolina

Rishi Aghera — Jack Britt High School
Maggie Campbell — Salem Academy
Amy Chen — Cape Hatteras Secondary School
Aissa Dearing-Benton — Josephine Dobbs Clement Early College High School
Winter Earnhardt — West Iredell High School
Anayeli Garcia Villa — Surry Early College High School of Design
Emily Grimm — Edgecombe Early College High School
Sonali Harris — North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
Caroline Hoover — Watauga High School
Ive Jones — Apex Friendship High School
Nina Lin — Jack Britt High School
David Marin Escobar — Phillip O Berry Academy of Technology
Isabella Marin Quintero — Millbrook High School
Grissel Medina-Hernandez — Rowan County Early College
Melody Montgomery — North Surry High School
Shuhud Mustafa — Smithfield-Selma High School
Beejay Odufuwa — Western Guilford High School
Dylan Pham — Millbrook High School
Austin Phillips — North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
Seth Ratliff — Collaborative College for Technology and Leadership
Daniel Santana-Garcia — Jordan Matthews High School
Hilton Stallworth — Enloe High School
Braden White — Ardrey Kell High School
Jameson Wolf — Asheville High School
William Zhang — Enloe High School

 

Ohio

Joy Ayinde — Centennial High School
Leéna Boone — Lorain County Early College High School
Sumaiya Hossain — Indian Hill High School
Billan Mahdi — Gahanna Lincoln High School
Leah Profitt — Preble Shawnee High School
Liz Radway — Indian Hill High School
Cecile Schreidah — Sylvania Northview High School
Helena Stacy — Jackson High School

 

Oklahoma

Desiree Rickett — Mustang High School
Nicholas Sayegh — Western Heights High School
Fiza Sheikh — Edmond Santa Fe High School

 

Oregon

Tony Chen — Franklin High School
Dilan Dodds — Gladstone High School
Angela Nguyen — Parkrose High School
Tina Truong — Benson Polytech High School
Selena Zhang — Lake Oswego High School

 

Pennsylvania

Hanna Aboueid — Lewisburg Area High School
Zackery Evans — Hanover Area Junior – Senior High School
Safiyyah Franklin — G W Carver High School of Engineering and Science
Angela Gonzalez — York County School of Technology
Cristina Jiang — Northeast High School
Nyah Jurado — Lower Moreland High School
Yarik Luchko — Northeast High School
Emily Myers — Upper Perkiomen High School
Keli Pegula — Mid Valley Junior-Senior High School
Kristina Pema — Northeast High School
Doreen Valmyr — Central High School
Thussenthan Walter-Angelo — Cedar Cliff High School
Jennifer Wang — McDowell High School

 

Puerto Rico

Melanie Rodríguez — Escuela Secundaria Especializada en CIMATEC

 

South Carolina

Reagan Atkinson — Marion High School
Etroy Green — Wilson High School
Selena Halabi — Ashley Ridge High School
Nathaniel Hope — White Knoll High School
Jacky Huang — Mauldin High School
Winni Jiang — James F Byrnes High School
Zahavi Johnson — West Ashley High School

 

South Dakota

Henry Heiberger — Brandon Valley High School
Harry Heiberger — Brandon Valley High School

 

Tennessee

Melanie Garcia — Morristown-Hamblen High School West
Dawit Girma — Martin Luther King Jr Magnet High School for Health Science and Engineering
Linh Pham — Hillsboro High School

 

Texas

Juanita Acosta — School of Health Professions at Yvonne A Ewell Townview Magnet Center
Jenn Adame — John F Kennedy High School
Peace Aiyegoro — Alief Early College High School
Emmanuella Alawode — South Grand Prairie High School
Alanah Armstead — Desoto High School
Diana Arriaga — Saint Joseph Academy
Zin Aung — Crowley High School
Alan Balboa-de la Fuente — IDEA Welasco College Prep
Kathleen Bellon Pizarro — A And M Consolidated High School
Julian Canales — Carnegie Vanguard High School
Angelica Carrillo — Odessa Senior High School
Alondra Castillo — Jane Long Academy
Daniel Cho — John H Guyer High School
Steven Cloud — Waxahachie Global High School
Diego Delarue — Ronald Reagan High School
Carolina Escobar — Alief Early College High School
Fatima Figueroa — Robert Vela High School
Leslie Flores — YES Preparatory Schools: Southwest
Lily Fowler — Saint Agnes Academy
Romeo Garcia — Mathematics and Science Academy
Maria Garcia-Garcia — Young Women’s Leadership Academy
Kevin Gonzalez — Manvel High School
Talia Hanley — James Bowie High School
David Ho — Oak Ridge High School
Saira Iqbal — Plano West Senior High School
Mariana Juarez — Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North High School
Tiffany Kalu — Desoto High School
Janice Kankolongo — Saginaw High School
Ryan Leung — Vandegrift High School
Lesley Lopez — Pasadena High School
Corbin Lubianski — East Central High School
Angel Luera — Pioneer High School
Irissa Machetta — Klein Collins High School
Lupita Melendez — Crowley High School
Peyton Mueller — John H Guyer High School
Richel Seiko Murata — Duncanville High School
Itbaan Nafi — Colleyville Heritage High School
Alia Nathani — Langham Creek High School
Chloe Nguyen — Michael E Debakey High School of the Health Professions
Liz Ogolo — Elsik High School
Yaayaa Pajibo — McKinney North High School
Jay Patel — Sinton High School
Kethan Reddy — Round Rock High School
Josh Russell — Tom Glenn High School
Mariano Salcedo — Pharr – San Juan – Alamo Southwest High School
Melinda Tran — Alief Early College High School
Rebeca Trevino — School of Health Professions at Yvonne A Ewell Townview Magnet Center
Cora Wen — Carnegie Vanguard High School
Gillian Witten — Hebron High School
Sumin Yoon — School for the Talented and Gifted at Yvonne A Ewell Townview Magnet Center

 

Utah

Tanner Christensen — Providence Hall Charter School
Faith Smart — Skyridge High School

 

Vermont

Suzy Frazier — Lake Region Union High School

 

Virginia

Volkan Akkale — Frank W Cox High School
Sem Asmelash — Justice High School
Minah Chen — Potomac Falls High School
Sam Gruber — Saint Anne’s-Belfield
Liam Heaslip — Franklin County High School
Sama Kubba — Princess Anne High School
Jason Lu — Ocean Lakes High School
David Morgan — Warwick High School
Ryan Nguyen — Rock Ridge High School
Myles Noel — Norview High School
Tierra Peguero — Granby High School
Sinan Seslikaya — Frank W Cox High School
Mehtap Yercel — Ocean Lakes High School

 

Washington

Lisa Ha — Kent-Meridian High School
Haley Herbert — Kelso High School
Linda Phan — Garfield High School
Jacob Soutos — Mount Baker Senior High School
Madison Thompson — Ellensburg High School

 

Wisconsin

Gomez Gomez Segura — Cristo Rey Jesuit High School Milwaukee
Bethany Harman — Dodgeville High School
Lydia Monk — North High School
Arlinda Yang — Riverside High School

 

An additional 22 Cooke College Scholar Semifinalists did not opt into publicity.

 

# # #

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is dedicated to advancing the education of exceptionally promising students who have financial need. Since 2000, the Foundation has awarded over $200 million in scholarships to over 2,700 students from 8th grade through graduate school, along with comprehensive educational advising and other support services. The Foundation has also provided $110 million in grants to organizations that serve such students.  www.jkcf.org

Media Contact: Amber Styles, 571-442-0772, media@jkcf.org