Six graduating University students have received the largest individual scholarships in the nation.
Fourth years Anita Gupta, Sarah Hobeika, Esther Huang, Bryan Maxwell, James Puckett and Danna Weiss were among the 50 graduating college students to win the first annual Jack Kent Cook Foundation Graduate Scholarships, announced May 3.
The Foundation awarded up to $50,000 per student per year for students to pay for graduate or professional school. Recipients had to be residents of, attend college in or plan to attend graduate school in Virginia, Maryland or Washington, D.C.
"We chose individuals with exceptional academic promise, but great intellectual ability was only one of our criteria," said Dr. Matthew J. Quinn, executive director of the foundation, in a press release. "We chose students who had special spark, who have overcome real adversity and who have a real commitment to giving back to society."
Many of the recipients were first-generation Americans, Quinn said.
"I was incredibly surprised," Huang said. "My first reaction was complete shock."
Aside from the obvious financial impact of the award, Gupta said it will make her take a different view of her schooling because of the high expectations now imposed upon her to shape the direction of the scholarship program and give back to society.
"When I'm thinking about school, it's no longer for me," she said.
Of the University recipients, two plan to attend law school, three will attend medical school, and one will study international relations. All were students in the College as undergraduates.
During their time at the University, all of the recipients were involved in extracurricular activities such as Madison House and the Sexual Assault Resource Center. In addition, several worked with service organizations outside the University community; for instance, Hobeika helped Afghan refugees adjust to life in the United States, while Puckett worked for Amnesty International on behalf of prisoners of conscience.
Huang, who will enroll in Harvard Medical School next fall, said she plans ultimately on running a medical clinic and conducting research on the molecular foundations of disease.
Gupta will attend medical school at Vanderbilt. She plans to study pediatrics and may open a health clinic in an underserved, inner city or rural area.
Weiss will enroll in the Croc Institute on International Peace Studies, where she wants to study how to root reconciliation in religion.
Puckett, who is interested in combating social injustice, will attend law school at Stanford.
Maxwell will attend Stanford Medical School after earning a master's degree in English at the University. Maxwell wants to study children's public health.
Hobeika will attend law school at the University and wants to work with refugees.
"These are all outstanding young men and women who have accomplished a great deal in their lives already," Quinn said. "The hope we have is that they improve the lives of others."
Jack Kent Cooke was a media mogul and owner of many professional sports teams, including the Washington Redskins football team and Los Angeles Lakers basketball team. Cooke died in 1998.
He was forced to drop out of high school for economic reasons, and donated the majority of his estate to helping others pay for their education. His foundation anticipates spending $10 million over the next six years on this first class of graduate scholarship recipients.
The foundation also plans to establish a $25 million-a-year program for undergraduate and eighth-grade scholarships, according to its Web site.
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