DECATUR, Ga. — Four students and one graduate from Georgia State University’s Perimeter College are in the running for the highly selective Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship.
The five Perimeter College semifinalists for 2022 represent all but one of those chosen from Georgia. They are among 440 semifinalists selected from more than 1,200 applicants attending 180 community colleges in 35 states.
Perimeter’s semifinalists and their academic interests are:
Ariana Castro – Biology
Paula Gil – Engineering
Ebony Milner – Health Sciences
Shirley Ortega – Psychology
Papa Ebo Quainoo – Engineering
The other semifinalist from Georgia this year is Chandra Jebodh from Athens Technical College.
The Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship is a competitive scholarship for the nation’s top community (two-year) college students. Each award is intended to cover a significant share of the student’s educational expenses—including tuition, living expenses, books and required fees—for the final two to three years necessary to achieve a bachelor’s degree.
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation provides recipients up to $55,000 per year, placing the scholarship among the largest private awards in the country for community college transfer students.
Since 2002, 23 Perimeter students have received the scholarship, many transferring to institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State. Last year’s winners, Awa Cisse and Gideon Melvin, are both continuing their undergraduate studies at Yale University.
Jack Kent Cooke Scholars are selected for their academic ability and achievement, financial need, persistence, service to others and leadership. In addition to financial support, recipients receive educational advising and the chance to connect with fellow Cooke Scholars. The Honors College program at Perimeter plays a lead role in preparing students to apply for the award. This year, four of the five semifinalists are part of the Honors College at Perimeter.
“Our five semifinalists have demonstrated an impressive degree of perseverance these past two years,” said Dr. Lauri Goodling, Honors College associate dean for Perimeter. “We are so proud of and happy for them, and we are excited to see how their bright futures unfold.”
Winners of the Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship will be announced by May.
Top Photo: Perimeter’s five semifinalists for the 2022 Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship are: (from left) Ariana Castro, Paula Gil Corredor, Ebony Milner, Shirley Ortega, Papa Ebo Quainoo
