Community Colleges Celebrate New 2022 Undergraduate Transfer Scholars

At the Cooke Foundation, this is one of the most uplifting times of year. In May, we announced that 100 finalists out of 1,200 applicants were chosen as Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholars – our largest cohort of Transfer Scholars yet. These 100 students will receive up to $55,000 per year to transfer to a four-year college or university and earn a bachelor’s degree in any field of study. 

After more than two years have passed since the COVID-19 pandemic began, this spring, some community colleges were finally able to congratulate their students for receiving the scholarship in person. Here are some of our favorite highlights: 

Vanessa Hughes of Brunswick Community College: 

Tarruck Wheeler of Palm Beach State College: 

Papa Ebo Quainoo of Perimeter College: 

 

Yesmene Chikha of Seminole State College: 

 

Anastasia Duenas, Kerri Langhorne, and Meelod Waheed of Northern Virginia Community College: 

 

Many of the new Cooke Transfer Scholars were featured in local news articles as well. Some of the stories include: 

Cameron Black, a public policy and psychology double major from Santa Barbara City College, who refuses to take his education for granted after missing out on a traditional K-12 experience. 

Photo by August Lawrence (https://www.thechannels.org/staff_name/august-lawrence/)

John Siebelink of MiraCosta College, a military veteran who is passionate about helping students improve their writing skills and wants to become an English professor someday. 

Jill Pruitt, a graduate of Eastern Oklahoma State College, who is planning on pursuing a career in the agricultural field after completing her bachelor’s degree in plant and soil science at West Texas A&M University. 

Union County College student Mark Farag, who is heavily involved in on-campus activities like Phi Theta Kappa, and serves as an ambassador for his second project with NASA L’Space Academy.  

June Shi of Mt. San Antonio College, who has worked hard to overcome her shyness and the challenges of being a non-native English speaker while studying in the U.S. 

Photo courtesy of Mt. San Antonio College

For more coverage on the 2022 Cooke Transfer Scholars, follow the Foundation on Twitter – @TheJKCF.