Category: Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship
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Dominika Panek
For recent Wright College graduate Dominika Panek, getting involved on campus was an essential part of her college journey. She was an editor for Wright’s Great Books Symposium Journal, a student-run literature publication, and she organized bone marrow drives on Wright’s campus for Be the Match, a national nonprofit organization. Throughout her time at Wright,…
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Rencie Horst
Rencie Horst has worked as a certified nursing assistant (CNA), a call center representative, a construction worker, and a photographer throughout her career—but her most important role is as a mom. Rencie has five kids, ranging in age from 13 to 22, and her oldest son was born with cerebral palsy. To take care of…
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Selvin Tobar
Selvin Tobar, Wright College’s 2023 valedictorian, grew up on the North Side of Chicago and attended Von Steuben High School, where he discovered an interest in chemistry and engineering. It was there he found out that he could attend his first two years of college for free at City Colleges of Chicago through the Star…
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Nancy Barrera
Nancy Barrera grew up in Chicago on the far South Side and attended Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy High School, where an Advanced Placement United States history class she took during her junior year sparked her interest in politics. So, when she enrolled at Harold Washington College in 2020, the decision to further that interest…
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Sam Roberts
While a student at Harold Washington College, Sam Roberts was glad to receive support from City Colleges of Chicago staff and departments. Help came from Harold Washington College staff like Meaghan Young-Stephens, TRiO Academic Coach, and Ellen Goldberg, Transfer Center Director, who both assisted Sam with scholarship and transfer applications. An evaluation through the Wellness…
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Michael Sansone
After graduating from Whitney M. Young Magnet High School in 2009, Michael Sansone was eager to jump into the workforce. He worked his way up in the restaurant industry and even operated a food truck—but, according to Michael, his growth was starting to plateau. That’s when he decided it was time to head back to…
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Trevin Cox
35-year-old Trevin Cox and his partner were thinking about buying a restaurant and bar before the COVID-19 pandemic changed their plans. Instead, Trevin was laid off from his job in the service industry due to the virus—twice. After the second time in September 2020, he was motivated to go back to school, though he had…
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Cielo Torres
When her parents decided to move their family to Mexico to be closer to family, Cielo Torres wasn’t sure how it would go. She had just finished her freshman year at John Hancock High School, and while she had grown up going back and forth between the U.S. and Mexico, high school completely in Spanish…
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Aaron Zabrinas
Aaron Zabrinas is well on his way to his goal of becoming a lawyer that advocates for vulnerable populations. After graduating from high school in the southwest suburbs of Chicago and trying out some classes at a local community college, Aaron decided he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do and wasn’t ready for college.…
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Renee King
From working in a call center and at a bank, to serving as a full-time nanny, Renee King’s resume already spans several industries—and now the 31-year-old Jamaican immigrant is focused on adding her dream job in dentistry to the list. Renee graduated with her associate degree in science from Truman College in the spring of…