Cooke Alumni Currents - October 2026
In this edition of the Cooke Alumni Currents, we are thrilled to feature the winners of the 2026 Cooke Scholar & Alumni Awards.
The Undergraduate Award recognizes a College Scholar or Undergraduate Transfer Scholar who made a significant contribution to the world through their efforts in their academic field, the arts, or public service. Their achievement reflects their innovation, courage to think big and work hard, and genuine concern for others.
The Alumni Award, the Matthew J. Quinn Prize, is given annually to Cooke Graduate Scholars or Alumni for their outstanding achievement in an academic field, the arts, or public service. Recipients demonstrate extraordinary concern for others, love of learning, creativity, integrity and leadership.
2026 Undergraduate Award Recipient
Maurits Acosta – 2025 College Scholar, Harvard University
Maurits Acosta is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Arts in Government with a secondary focus in Education at Harvard University. Maurits founded Virtutem Populo (VP), a student-led nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting civic engagement and community involvement among youth in Florida. At VP, they host innovative programs that make democracy come to life for young people, including a knowledge bowl, a youth governance day program, a Constitution Day quest, and their Florida Student School Board Member Initiative. Over four years, VP has raised over $120,000 and reached over 6,000 students, growing into one of Miami’s largest fully student-led organizations. Now attending Harvard University, Maurits still remains involved with the organization and supports their strategic growth while mentoring the leadership team. Maurits recently appointed Clint John, a 2024 Cooke Foundation Young Scholar, to lead Virtutem Populo. “Looking ahead, my goal is to continue strengthening Virtutem Populo’s organizational infrastructure so that it can expand beyond South Florida and serve as a replicable model for youth civic engagement nationwide.”
2026 Alumni Award Recipients
Maria Martinez-Donaus – 2009 Young Scholar; 2014 College Scholar; 2020 Graduate Scholar, Baylor University
Maria Martinez-Donaus recently received her Doctor of Education at Baylor School of Education. A resident of Brownsville, TX, Maria watched in shock as SpaceX moved into a nearby city and hired 800 new employees, none of whom were local. Maria made it her goal to support the people of her community to preserve their culture and thrive through this transition. Inspired by her experience as a Cooke Scholar, she founded RioProgress, a college-access nonprofit that focuses on one-on-one support for students and families in her community. Her organization has hosted bilingual college timeline workshops, financial aid workshops, and college information sessions for parents for over 300 participants in partnership with trusted community organizations. Through her work, she’s reached 800+ individuals, and a number of students have matriculated to selective universities. “While I love doing this work, it will not be sustainable if the knowledge is gatekept. I want to make it so that every student in our community can reach out to a trusted adult in their life and get at least the general guidance…I wanted to be someone who lifted as I climbed.”
Paula Salazar Valiente – 2018 Undergraduate Transfer Scholar; 2024 Graduate Scholar, Columbia University
Maria (Paula) Salazar Valiente recently completed her Master of Science in International/Global Studies at Columbia University. As she personally experienced the challenges of immigrating from El Salvador to Belize, Paula aimed to craft platforms and solutions for migrants escaping violence. Paula created the Amnesty Mobile Migrant Hubs in Belize and Panama, which establish decentralized, weekend multi-service events to facilitate direct provision of essential services, enabling rapid completion of immigration processes. These hubs serve an important role for migrants amid temporary government regularization opportunities. Through her work, she’s created comprehensive service fairs which bring essential stakeholders under one roof: immigration authorities receiving applications on site, stations for immigration guidance, legal aid, medical certifications, translations, consular services, psychosocial support, and data collection to refine future events. The Mobile Migrant Hubs framework has been adapted in both Belize and Panama and has impacted approximately 7,000 migrants. She says, “whether conceptualizing hubs or analyzing data, the migrants’ joy upon regularization – the tangible restoration of dignity – grounds my purpose.”