Minorities qualify for the most generous graduate scholarships in the U.S

Jet, May 27, 2002

Shani Aminah Moore of Pasadena, MD, a Princeton University journalism major, wants to improve her writing skills.

Danielle M. Osler, a major in electrical engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana, hopes to balance technology with social justice in public office.

Donald Kareem Sherman of Jamaica, NY, a graduate of Georgetown University, intends to go to the institution's law school to be able to help young Black children.

The dreams of this trio--all of whom were among the 50 college senior winners of the first Jack Kent Cook Foundation graduate scholarships--well may be realized. Picked from a total of 675 applicants from the states of Virginia and Maryland and the District of Columbia, who applied to the country's most generous fund, the winners are eligible for up to $300,000 for graduate education.

Next year college seniors from more areas will be eligible for funds. The foundation is located at 44115 Woodridge Parkway, Lansdowne, VA, 20176.

The late Jack Kent Cook, once the owner of the Washington Redskins football team and L.A. Lakers, was unable to go to college during the depression. He set aside the bulk of his estate to create the foundation dedicated to education.

Other minority winners were Fasika and Tinsay Woreta, twin daughters of an Ethiopian-born physician who migrated to the U.S. Both daughters will enroll in biochemistry studies at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

A psychology major from George Washington University, Arnar Mukherjee will attend the New York University School of Medicine. He is from India and wants to pursue biomedical research.