Awardees From Five CUNY Colleges Are Among 90 Recipients Nationwide Who Will Receive Up to $55,000 Annually Toward Bachelor Studies
CUNY’s Cooke Scholars include, clockwise from top left, Pedrocia De-Sosoo, Tabia Tarannum, Liam Lotz, Marco Álvarez and Tanzeela Jahangir Chaudhry.
The City University of New York today celebrated nine standout CUNY community college students who were selected to receive the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s coveted Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship, the largest number of CUNY students to receive the scholarship in a single award cycle. CUNY’s recipients, who join to earn the competitive award, will receive up to $55,000 annually as they work to complete their bachelor’s degrees.
“We are incredibly proud of these students for representing the best of our University and showcasing the transformative impact that our two-year schools can have,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “They will continue to thrive as they work toward their bachelor’s degrees, and their selection as Cooke Transfer Scholars ensures they can do so without being burdened by the financial barriers that too often prevent college students from achieving their full potential.”
The Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship is a highly selective scholarship for the nation’s top community college students. This year’s selection process drew more than 1,600 applications from community colleges across the nation. The 90 new scholars were selected from a semifinalist pool of 467 students from 212 community colleges.
The scholarship reflects the barriers community college students face in choosing to continue their education. The impact of such challenges, ranging from the cost of tuition to lack of support systems, can be dramatic: While nearly 80% of community college students aspire to earn a bachelor’s degree, within six years. The Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship makes this goal more attainable by easing the financial burden for selected students.
Cooke Transfer Scholars receive as much as $55,000 in funding each year for up to three years. Students also receive educational advising to assist them with the transfer to a four-year college and beyond, along with opportunities for internships, study-abroad programs and graduate school through the organization’s alumni network. Previous CUNY recipients of the scholarship went on to pursue baccalaureate studies at universities including Cornell, Princeton and Columbia, along with CUNY’s four-year colleges.
“This year’s cohort reflects the remarkable talent and determination thriving in community colleges nationwide,” said Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Executive Director Giuseppe (Seppy) Basili. “As we mark 25 years of impact, we remain committed to amplifying the successes of these students and opening doors to the opportunities they deserve.”
Below are CUNY’s nine Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship recipients.
- Abdoulaye Diallo
Hostos Community College:
- Marco Álvarez
Kingsborough Community College:
- Tanzeela Jahangir Chaudhry
- Liam Lotz
- Jessica Gallegos
- Miguel Posada Perez
- Tabia Tarannum
Queensborough Community College:
- Ieesha Ansar
- Pedrocia De-Sosoo
Last year, BMCC student was among the 60 recipients of the coveted award; Lin is currently using the scholarship to pursue a bachelor’s degree in computer science at Columbia University.
The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving nearly 240,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 50,000 degrees each year. CUNY’s mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University’s graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city’s economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city’s workforce in every sector. CUNY’s graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur “genius” grants. The University’s historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background. To learn more about CUNY, visit .
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