University Hails 28 Students Among Coveted Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship Semifinalists
Launches New Subway Ad Campaign for its Award-Winning CUNY ASAP Support Program; Hosts Nearly 60 Admission Events
The City University of New York kicked off National Community College Month today by celebrating the 28 CUNY community college students named as semifinalists for the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s coveted Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. As a part of the University’s month-long promotion of its seven community colleges, CUNY is launching a multifaceted advertising campaign to bolster awareness about CUNY ASAP, the University’s award-winning support program for community college students which recently marked a milestone of serving 100,000 students.
“Congratulations are in order for CUNY’s Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship semifinalists, who embody the great dedication shown by community college students at CUNY and across the nation each and every day,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “An associate degree can be transformational to a student’s life, whether it opens doors to the many varied destinations of higher education or leads to accelerated success in a person’s career. This celebration of National Community College Month is a timely reminder of those many invaluable impacts.”
Throughout April, CUNY’s community colleges are hosting 58 events virtually and in-person to help prospective students and their families learn about the benefits of pursuing an associate degree. The events include campus tours, information sessions and open houses. A full listing of these events is available on the CUNY Undergraduate Admissions Events website.
Each April, two-year colleges across the country mark National Community College Month, celebrating the unique role that these institutions play in the lives of their students, including the 67,000 students pursuing their educational and career goals at a CUNY community college.
Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship
The Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship is a highly competitive program for community college students looking to pursue a bachelor’s degree at a four-year college. Recipients receive up to $55,000 per year for two to three years and access to personal advisors.
This year, 28 CUNY students have been selected as scholarship semifinalists, representing Borough of Manhattan Community College, LaGuardia Community College, Kingsborough Community College and Queensborough Community College. BMCC, with 19 semifinalists, has the third-highest number of semifinalists among the 194 community colleges represented nationally, and the most in New York State.
Finalists for the scholarship will be announced in May. Recipients receive up to $55,000 annually for up to three years toward earning a bachelor’s degree. Last year, three graduating CUNY students were named among the 60 awardees; each of these graduates is using the funds to pursue a bachelor’s degree.
Promoting CUNY ASAP
The month-long celebration of community colleges aligns with the launch of a new campaign promoting CUNY ASAP, a comprehensive program geared toward helping community college students achieve timely graduation by providing essential resources including scholarships, textbook stipends, transportation benefits and personalized academic advising. Since its inception in 2007, CUNY ASAP has earned acclaim from esteemed institutions, prompting 11 states to adopt or consider the model.
A new advertisement campaign highlights these benefits and is informed by CUNY ASAP student ambassadors and peer mentors. Interested individuals are directed to the newly revamped CUNY ASAP website, where prospective students can access detailed information about applying to CUNY, eligibility requirements for the program and steps to enroll. The campaign will run throughout the New York City subway as well as online starting next week.
Below are the 28 Cooke Transfer Scholar semifinalists attending CUNY community colleges.
Borough of Manhattan Community College
- Isabela Bandeira
- Joely Castillo
- Anthony Chimbay
- Jaime Diaz Granados Almanza
- Jeraldine Diyarza Flores
- Kaya Fader
- Shayla Jimenez
- Anamelia Jourdain
- Francis Koroma
- Jasmin Lecadre
- Dan Lin
- Katarzyna Gawin
LaGuardia Community College
- Shekinah Glory Kantono
- Amena Shamia
- Md Siddique
- Angelina Ojeda
- Chaw Nandar
- Minghao Zhang
- Mateo Andino
- Antonett Gardner
- Lawrance Gomes
Kingsborough Community College
- Sumaya Jashim
- Nawel Messaoudi
- Reuben Petit-Noel
Queensborough Community College
- Melanie Jerez Cruz
- Shantal Edwards
- Anna Liu
- Yen Yi Shak
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 more than 225,000 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 https://www.cuny.edu.
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