100 Community College Students Awarded Prestigious National Transfer Scholarship to Attend Four-Year Institutions
A previous cohort of Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholars
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation announces its largest-ever cohort of Undergraduate Transfer Scholars
Lansdowne, VA — The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation today named 100 high-achieving community college students as recipients of the prestigious Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. The highly competitive national scholarship provides transfer students with up to $55,000 a year to complete their bachelor’s degrees.
In the 2020-21 academic year, four-year colleges and universities saw nearly 200,000 fewer transfer enrollment applications nationwide, reflecting the pandemic’s disruptive effect on students and their plans for college. Despite that decline, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation welcomed its largest class of Scholars to date, highlighting the talent and achievement of hundreds of community college students across the country. In light of growing financial hardship for so many families, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation also increased the maximum award amount by an extra $15,000 to ensure students can focus on their studies while enrolled.
“Today, almost half of all college students begin their academic career at a community college. We know our community colleges are full of high-achieving students, and we’re committed to playing our part to ensure those students succeed,” said Seppy Basili, executive director of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. “Congratulations to a cohort of students who have persisted in the midst of such unprecedented disruptions in our lives. We welcome you into our community and look forward to learning alongside you.”
New Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholars will receive comprehensive educational advising to guide them through the process of transitioning to a four-year college and preparing for their careers. Along with financial support, Scholars will additionally receive opportunities for internships, study abroad, and graduate school funding, as well as connection to a thriving network of over nearly 3,000 Cooke Scholars and Alumni.
This year, more than 1,200 students from 332 community colleges applied to receive the Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. The Foundation evaluated each submission based on students’ academic ability and achievement, financial need, persistence, and leadership.
A list of this year’s Cooke Transfer Scholars is below.
ARIZONA
Cordero Holmes – Rio Salado College
CALIFORNIA
Aiman Al Sharai – Diablo Valley College
Enrique Baranda – Mount San Jacinto College
Melany Bennett – Los Angeles City College
Cameron Black – Santa Barbara City College
Maple Duong – East Los Angeles College
Andrea Fernandez Cruz – El Camino College
Natalia Hernandez Martinez – Pasadena City College
Sakura Kappel – Diablo Valley College
Brittany Kester – Irvine Valley College
Rishi Lakhnori – Glendale Community College
Edin Madrid – Imperial Valley College
Ulises Maldonado – Long Beach City College
Jeannette Mayo Gallegos – San Diego City College
Chloe Millar – Cabrillo College
Mitchell Peterson – Diablo Valley College
Trinh Phan – Orange Coast College
Samantha Rocha Silva – Cabrillo College
Jane Sanchez Hernandez – Hartnell College
Jun Shi – Mount San Antonio College
John Siebelink – MiraCosta College
Isabella Solorio – College of the Canyons
Jessica Susanto – Fullerton College
David Tanoko – West Los Angeles College
Brandon Vela – El Camino College
Bryan Vela – El Camino College
Brandon Yamamoto – Diablo Valley College
Dmytro Yanovskyi – De Anza College
FLORIDA
Jaimie Adams – St. Petersburg College
Leah Basaria – Valencia College
Alexa Bencomo – Miami Dade College
Ana Camba – Miami Dade College
Yesmine Chikha – Seminole State College of Florida
Stefani Davila – Miami Dade College
Brandon Palomino-Alonso – Iowa Western Community College
Miranda Rublaitus – Valencia College
Paola Troconis – Miami Dade College
Daphnie Velasquez Garcia – Miami Dade College
Tarruck Wheeler – Palm Beach State College
GEORGIA
Chandra Jebodh – Athens Technical College
Papa Ebo Quainoo – Georgia Perimeter College
IOWA
Annalissa Haubrich – Marshalltown Community College
ILLINOIS
Nancy Barrera – City Colleges of Chicago: Harold Washington College
Trevin Cox – City Colleges of Chicago: Wilbur Wright College
Rebbie Davis – Prairie State College
Mary Randall – City Colleges of Chicago: Harold Washington College
Samantha Roberts – City Colleges of Chicago: Harold Washington College
Michael Sansone – City Colleges of Chicago: Harry S. Truman College
Cielo Torres – City Colleges of Chicago: Malcolm X College
KANSAS
Sabrina Nicacio Gomes – Hutchinson Community College
MASSACHUSETTS
Joel Gutierrez Estupinan – Bunker Hill Community College
Corinne Lepage – Bristol Community College
Miren Neyra Alcantara – Holyoke Community College
MARYLAND
Anna Chacon – Montgomery College
Eve Elias Stowell – Montgomery College
Marthe Medalebem Sandjol – Montgomery College
Margaret Mothershed – Hagerstown Community College
MINNESOTA
Insia Kizilbash – Normandale Community College
MISSISSIPPI
Lucia Barberena – Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College
Hanna Lambert – Pearl River Community College
Carlin Taylor – Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College
NORTH CAROLINA
Vanessa Hughes – Brunswick Community College
Han Nguyen – Forsyth Technical Community College
NEW JERSEY
Bertila Bruka – Bergen Community College
Ashely Diaz – Passaic County Community College
Thomas Emens – Middlesex County College
Mark Farag – Union County College
Eduardo Hernandez – Bergen Community College
Daniah Nazhat Al Fatal – Essex County College
Crystal Yoo – Bergen Community College
Leslie Yuqui – Bergen Community College
NEW YORK
Michael Aidoo – City University of New York: Bronx Community College
Ekinadose Asemota – City University of New York: Bronx Community College
Paola Beber Sanches – Westchester Community College
Mohamad Bekhit – City University of New York: LaGuardia Community College
Jaclyn Liquori – Corning Community College
Bagul Mammedova – Jamestown Community College
Gabriel Morillo – City University of New York: Bronx Community College
Haoua Sanfo – City University of New York: Bronx Community College
James Stuart – City University of New York: LaGuardia Community College
Jiahua Wu – City University of New York: Kingsborough Community College
OKLAHOMA
Jill Pruitt – Eastern Oklahoma State College
PENNSYLVANIA
Tahara Garrison-Brown – Community College of Philadelphia
TENESSEE
Zachary Andina – Northeast State Community College
Bryan Kirk – Northeast State Community College
TEXAS
Aaliyah Avellaneda – Northeast Texas Community College
Angelica Bernal Penaloza – Lone Star College System
Jordan Booth – Tyler Junior College
Allen Brown-Zubillaga – San Antonio College
Lacy Butler – Lone Star College System
Kaba Aicha Diaba Diakite – Dallas College
Faizan Khan – Austin Community College
Madison Terry – Lone Star College System
VIRGINIA
Anastasia Duenas – Northern Virginia Community College
Lukas Havenstein – Virginia Western Community College
Keirsten Kekic – Lord Fairfax Community College
Kerri Langhorne – Northern Virginia Community College
Meelod Waheed – Northern Virginia Community College
VERMONT
Autumn Morse – Community College of Vermont
WASHINGTON
Amber Oosting – Spokane Falls Community College
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The Cooke Foundation is dedicated to advancing the education of exceptionally promising students who have financial need. Since 2000, the Foundation has awarded $230 million in scholarships to nearly 3,000 students from 8th grade through graduate school, along with comprehensive counseling and other support services. The Foundation has also provided $125 million in grants to organizations that serve such students. www.jkcf.org