New Scholarship Unlocks Graduate Education for Cohort of High-Achieving Scholars

Posted October 11, 2017 | By Cooke Foundation Staff

Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Awards Graduate Scholarships to 53 Cooke Scholars

LANSDOWNE, Va. (October 11, 2017) — The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, a leading scholarship and grantmaking organization, has awarded graduate scholarships of up to $200,000 each to 53 Cooke Scholars.

The lifetime earnings of a master’s degree holder, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, are $400,000 higher than an individual with only a bachelor’s degree. Still, graduate study remains precariously out of reach for many talented students, with the average annual tuition for graduate programs standing at $30,000 for public universities and $40,000 for private colleges and universities. Financial concerns are often noted as one of the most consistent reasons why students choose not to pursue graduate education.

To bridge the gap between high-achieving students and graduate education, the Cooke Foundation provides these scholarships, worth up to $50,000 a year for up to four years, only to previous recipients of Cooke Scholarships.

“Far too often price prevents even the most exceptional students from realizing their aspirations of graduate study. Cooke Graduate Scholars have overcome obstacles to reach the highest levels of achievement at some of our nation’s most selective colleges and universities,” said Cooke Foundation Executive Director Harold O. Levy. “With expanded opportunities for graduate study, they are certain to play important roles in numerous professional fields, improving the lives of many and benefiting our nation through their transformational talents.”

A number of the scholars also received Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer scholarships, which help high-achieving community college students with exceptional academic qualifications and life experience, transfer to four-year programs. Sean Moore, for example, was a first-generation college student at the County College of Morris in New Jersey and transferred to Yale with the Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship in 2013. This fall, he will follow his passion for criminal justice reform and child advocacy to Lincoln College at the University of Oxford to study for a master’s degree in criminology and criminal justice.

Drawn from a competitive pool of candidates demonstrating outstanding academic performance, financial need, and leadership, the new cohort of Graduate Scholars are beginning their studies this fall in law, medicine, business, education, fine and performing arts, social work and other areas at prestigious universities in the United States and abroad.

A full list of this year’s Cooke Graduate Scholars can be found below:

Eva Albalghiti
Undergraduate Institution: Yale University

Jesus Bohorquez
Undergraduate Institution: University of Florida
Graduate Institution: University of Florida

Maria Chapado
Undergraduate Institution: Florida State University
Graduate Institution: New York University

Trevor Creighton
Undergraduate Institution: Columbia University
Graduate Institution: Harvard University

Karen Cruz
Undergraduate Institution: Yale University
Graduate Institution: Harvard University

Danna Culhane
Undergraduate Institution: University of Washington
Graduate Institution: University of Washington

Kayleah Cumpian
Undergraduate Institution: Texas Tech University
Graduate Institution: University of Texas Medical Branch

Carmina Franchesca Del Mundo
Undergraduate Institution: University of Southern California
Graduate Institution: Northwestern University

Dillon DeWitt
Undergraduate Institution: Loyola University Chicago
Graduate Institution: University of Pennsylvania

Omar Escamilla

Undergraduate Institution: DePaul University
Graduate Institution: New York University

Nasim Eshragh Nia
Undergraduate Institution: University of California, San Diego<
Graduate Institution: University of California, San Diego

Ian Goller
Undergraduate Institution: University of Chicago
Graduate Institution: University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Jonathan Finnerty
Undergraduate Institution: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick
Graduate Institution: University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Norris Guncheon
Undergraduate Institution: New York University
Graduate Institution: Columbia University

Armian Hanelli
Undergraduate Institution: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Graduate Institution: California Institute of Technology

Aaron Hansen
Undergraduate Institution: Columbia University
Graduate Institution: Columbia University

Sara Harmon
Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Berkeley
Graduate Institution: University of Pennsylvania

Alborz Jelvani
Undergraduate Institution: University of California, San Diego
Graduate Institution: University of California, San Diego

Sam Jones
Undergraduate Institution: Savannah College of Art and Design
Graduate Institution: California Institute of the Arts

Siamak Khakshoor-Kohan
Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Los Angeles
Graduate Institution: University of California, Los Angeles

Therese Kobanghe Langazo
Undergraduate Institution: Georgetown University
Graduate Institution: Columbia University

Rachel Lazar
Undergraduate Institution: Columbia University
Graduate Institution: John Jay College

Joonho Lee
Undergraduate Institution: Macalester College
Graduate Institution: Georgetown University

Bryan Lee
Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Berkeley
Graduate Institution: University of Pennsylvania

Jennifer Lyu
Undergraduate Institution: Emory University

Kristina Madden
Undergraduate Institution: University of Washington

Mia Maloney
Undergraduate Institution: School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Graduate Institution: University of Pennsylvania

Reagan Martin
Undergraduate Institution: University of Oklahoma

Stacy McElvaney
Undergraduate Institution: University of Denver
Graduate Institution: University of Denver

Patricia Medina
Undergraduate Institution: Stetson University
Graduate Institution: Howard University

Grey Micah
Undergraduate Institution: Macalester College

Jyodi Mohole
Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Davis

Sean Moore
Undergraduate Institution: Yale University
Graduate Institution: University of Oxford

Dennis Murphy
Undergraduate Institution: American University
Graduate Institution: Johns Hopkins University

Bertheleau Ngakam
Undergraduate Institution: Cornell University

Eden Ohayon
Undergraduate Institution: Yale University

Edgar Okorie
Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Berkeley
Graduate Institution: Columbia University

Megan Parsons
Undergraduate Institution: Harvard University
Graduate Institution: Boston University

Samantha Pratt
Undergraduate Institution: New York University

Trung Quach
Undergraduate Institution: Georgia Institute of Technology

Katherine Robinson
Undergraduate Institution: Arizona State University

Joseph Saiz
Undergraduate Institution: University of Notre Dame

Angel Sanchez
Undergraduate Institution: University of Central Florida
Graduate Institution: University of Miami

Steve Seichepine
Undergraduate Institution: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Graduate Institution: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Hanna Shum
Undergraduate Institution: Drexel University
Graduate Institution: Georgetown University

Christina Simons
Undergraduate Institution: California Institute of the Arts
Graduate Institution: University of Oxford

AiLing Sung
Undergraduate Institution: University of Illinois at Chicago
Graduate Institution: Northwestern University

Larry Thi
Undergraduate Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Graduate Institution: University of Pennsylvania

Julie Tran
Undergraduate Institution: Franklin & Marshall College

Sophia VanKlootwyk-Forde
Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Los Angeles
Graduate Institution: University of Cambridge

Naduah Wheeler
Undergraduate Institution: University of Oregon
Graduate Institution: Lund University

Angelina Xing
Graduate Institution: University of Cambridge

Hong Ye
Undergraduate Institution: Stanford University
Graduate Institution: Stanford University

Media Contact: Amber Styles 703-723-5647, media@jkcf.org

The Cooke Foundation is dedicated to advancing the education of exceptionally promising students who have financial need. Since 2000, the foundation has awarded $175 million in scholarships to more than 2,300 students from 8th grade through graduate school, along with comprehensive counseling and other support services. The foundation has also provided over $97 million in grants to organizations that serve such students. www.jkcf.org

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