Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Announces 2026 College Scholarship Recipients
LANSDOWNE, VIRGINIA – The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation today announced that 60 high school seniors have been named the 2026 recipients of the prestigious Cooke College Scholarship.
The Cooke College Scholarship, a last-dollar award that supplements all institutional aid, provides recipients with up to $55,000 per year to pursue a bachelor’s degree at any accredited undergraduate institution. The scholarship is designed to ensure that exceptional students with financial need can attend and graduate from college without excessive student debt.
“As we continue our mission to support talented students with financial need, we are proud to recognize this year’s cohort of Cooke College Scholars,” said Seppy Basili, Chief Executive Officer of the Cooke Foundation. “These students have demonstrated extraordinary academic achievement and leadership. We are excited to celebrate them as they move forward in pursuing their educational and professional ambitions.”
The scholarship announcement comes as college applications are up across the country, according to Common App data, and the number of students who fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is on track to reach an all-time high.
In addition to substantial financial support, Cooke College Scholars receive comprehensive advising and enrichment opportunities throughout their college careers. Scholars benefit from personalized academic advising, career and graduate school guidance, internship and study abroad opportunities, and access to a vibrant network of fellow Scholars and Alumni. After completing their undergraduate degrees, Scholars are also eligible to apply for additional funding for graduate study.
The 2026 Cooke College Scholars represent students from across the United States, including 31 states and the District of Columbia.
Additionally, the Foundation would like to recognize 56 high school seniors who have participated in the Cooke Young Scholars program for the past five years and are now matriculating to the College Scholarship program. The full list of 2026 Cooke College Scholars, including their high schools and states, appears below.
Alabama
Ashlee Dickey – Alabama Virtual Academy
Andrew Roe* – Homeschool
Alaska
Somi Clendaniel – Seward High School
Arizona
Nicole Eom – Sandra Day O’Connor High School
Sophia Gomez – Moon Valley High School
Arkansas
Andrew Dunlap* – Hall S.T.E.A.M. High School
Evan Emerson* – Lakeside High School
California
Laura Angeli-Santa* – El Rancho High School
Yireh Ban* – Troy High School
Camila Betancourt* – La Jolla Country Day School
Cayden Cain – Sierra Canyon School
Marilyn Carlon Espinoza* – Alliance Margaret M. Bloomfield High School
Azucena Cruz Ramos – Orange Glen High School
Turner Daudert* – San Jacinto Leadership Academy
Sofia Garcia* – The Preuss School
Nataly Hernandez-Lopez* – Math and Science College Preparatory
Daniel Montejano* – Convent & Stuart Hall
Alina Nguyen* – Hoover High School
Crystal Nguyen* – Gompers Preparatory Academy
Eira Silva Jimenez* – The Sequoyah School
Colorado
Enkh Turtogtokh – Overland High School
Connecticut
Ehsanullah Hadi – West Haven High School
Delaware
Rafael Farrera-Juarez – Sussex Central High School
Florida
Maria Alfonzo* – Downtown Doral Charter Upper School
Fabian Ashton-Salas – School for Advanced Studies
Cypress Cohen – Babcock High School
Anabella Guerra – Medical Academy for Science and Technology at Homestead
Valentina Looz* – Robinson High School
Abraham Piedra Gonzalez – Mater Performing Arts Academy
Ryleigh Turner – Auburndale Senior High School
Georgia
Andes Finch* – Paideia School
Roohe Khan – Columbus High School
Hawaii
Marley McIntyre – Honoka’a High School
Vera Wang – Henry J. Kaiser High School
Illinois
Anali Lopez* – Saint Ignatius College Preparatory
Aiden McBroom – Mount Carmel High School
Jalyssa Pierson* – Proviso West High School
Francis Reh* – Latin School of Chicago
Indiana
David Ruat* – Perry Meridian High School
Kansas
Ayanna Jain* – Olathe North High School
Kentucky
Lucas Hsiu – Paul Laurence Dunbar High School
Jazaria Taylor – Central High School
Louisiana
Beija Lopes-Morgan – Mandeville High School
Magdalena St. Louis* – Metairie Park Country Day School
Maryland
Rajan Bell – Wheaton High School
Aya Elamrani Zerifi – Hereford High School
Steven Gaitan Jaime – Oxon Hill High School
Kameron Hensley* – St. Paul’s School for Boys
Arsema Mengistu* – Maret School
Ronny Picardo* – Northwest High School
Massachusetts
Manton Du – Weymouth High School
Uche Mba* – South High Community School
Michigan
Julian Cardoso – Watervliet High School
Shenhao Deng – Canton High School
Minnesota
Ayoub Farah – Owatonna High School
Afomia Mesfin – Irondale Senior High School
Missouri
Janya Clark – Metro Academic and Classical High School
Luan Hoang – Hazelwood West High School
Alexander Tung* – Brentwood High School
Nebraska
Gideon Terwilleger – Lincoln Southeast High School
Nevada
Kimberly Del Castillo* – Equipo Academy
Dallas Havill – West Career and Technical Academy
Elijah Joseph* – The Davidson Academy of Nevada
Anita Ndubisi – Princeton High School
New Jersey
Ikenna Edoh* – Carteret High School
Mohamed Elfadl – Union County Magnet High School
Maximus Elmorry – High Technical High School
New York
Andrei Delrosso* – Milton Hershey School
Avril Desir – Sacred Heart Academy
Julia Gelman – Queens High School for the Sciences at York College
Nima Gurung* – M546 Academy for Software Engineering
Caroline Jiang – Bronx High School of Science
Emily Zheng – East Meadow High School
North Carolina
Clara Choi* – North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
Destiny Dennis – West Mecklenburg High School
Kayla Gicovi* – Wakefield High School
Eduardo Gonzales Yanez – Wallace Rose Hill High School
Kolby Gupton* – North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
Cina Huston – Topsail High School
Perry Kim* – North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
Fatou Lo – Mount Tabor High School
Cana-Morgan Moore* – Reidsville High School
Diana Mora Martinez* – John Motley Morehead High School
Ohio
Kaitlyn Roberts* – Hamilton High School Main Campus
Sosena Tefera – Anderson High School
Oklahoma
Jozlin Campbell – Alva Senior High School
Dalton Guan* – George School
Pennsylvania
Iftakhar Murshaed – Upper Darby High School
Anabela Relvas – Lower Moreland High School
Colette Remy* – Merion Mercy Academy
South Carolina
Trinity James – Wade Hampton High School
South Dakota
Nana Kwame Dwomoh – Brookings High School
Darin Espinoza* – Todd County High School
Sky Kane – Sioux Falls Jefferson High School
Amaya Martinez* – Todd County High School
Tennessee
Lucas Hinds* – Roane County High School
Tia Maben – Brighton High School
Texas
Precious Akhigbe* – Richardson High School
Jenna Bostick* – Veterans Memorial High School
Isai Castro – Kipp Austin Collegiate
Juan Flores – South Texas Academy of Medical Technology
Immanuel Gagakuma* – South Grand Prairie Highschool
Itzel Garcia – Sharyland High School
Isabella Heras* – Carnegie Vanguard High School
Vedansh Mannem – Basis San Antonio
Izyan Maredia* – Phillips Exeter Academy
Ly Nguyen* – Ross S Sterling High School
Hien Pham – Ronald Reagan High School
Vermont
Ethan Feldser* – Putney School
Virginia
Rodrigo Gutierrez* – Landon School
Amaya Hall* – Green Run Collegiate
Elijah Lee* – Maggie L. Walker Governors School
Washington
Stephen Lee – Eastlake High School
Wisconsin
Elijah Szabo* – Fort Atkinson High School
*Indicates that this student is also a current Cooke Young Scholar.
*Two additional Cooke College Scholars did not opt into publicity.