Six African-American Students Win Jack Kent Cooke Transfer Scholarships

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s community college transfer scholarship program offers scholarships for up to $30,000 per year for low-income students who have completed work at a two-year community college and who seek to complete a bachelor’s degree at a four-year institution.

This year 46 Jack Kent Cooke Transfer Scholarships were awarded. Six of the winners are African Americans:

David K. Kariuki, a native of Kenya, attended Essex County College in New Jersey. He will enroll as a junior at Stanford University this fall. His plan is to pursue a Ph.D. in the biomedical sciences and to conduct research in disease prevention.

Ahmad A. Lewis is a native of Los Angeles. He attended Long Beach City College and is now transferring to Stanford University. He will be a sociology major at Stanford and hopes to continue on to graduate school and become a university professor.

Bertheleau M. Ngakam is from Cameroon. He came to the United States in 2004. A year later he enrolled at Essex County College in New Jersey. Two years later he graduated with an associate’s degree, ranking first in his class. He will enroll at Cornell University and he plans to become a doctor.

Candace N. Payne grew up in Miami after coming to the United States from Trinidad and Tobago at an early age. She achieved a perfect 4.0 grade point average at Palm Beach Community College and was voted the college’s best chemistry student. She will now enroll at George Washington University with the hope of one day becoming a physician.

Deeneaus D. Polk completed his studies at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and is transferring to the University of Mississippi. He plans to attend law school after college and to specialize in international law. He would like to serve as an ambassador in Europe.

Kojo N. Wallace of New York City is a graduate of Bronx Community College, a part of the City University of New York system. He will be attending Cornell University to major in biochemistry and/or mathematics and plans to become a doctor.