Perimeter College Leads State in Number of Contenders for Prestigious Scholarship

DECATUR, Ga. — Ten students from Georgia State University’s Perimeter College are frontrunners for the nationally competitive Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship, representing all but two of those chosen from the state.

In addition, each Perimeter College semifinalist is an Honors College student. They are among 459 semifinalists selected from more than 1,700 applicants attending 215 community colleges in 38 states.

Perimeter’s semifinalists and their academic interests are:

Ariel Ford – Theatre
Paula Gil – Engineering
Tierra Grant – Psychology
Oksana "Kseniya" Harrington – Physics
Serin Kim – Psychology
Mens Muzyin – Engineering
Tsinat "Ruth" Nure – Business Administration
Areej Rizwan – Engineering
Madelief Tilder – Sociology
Julian Umana-Bernal – Engineering

“We are incredibly proud of these Honors College students who stand out among hundreds of national competitors to become 2023 Jack Kent Cooke finalists,” said Perimeter’s Dr. Lauri Goodling, Associate Dean for Honors College and Associate Dean for International Initiatives.

“Congratulations to them and to our entire Honors College team members who, year after year, help to recruit, track, counsel and mentor students through the arduous application process hoping to increase the number of Perimeter students receiving this highly coveted award.”

Some of the latest research from the American Talent Initiative estimates that roughly 50,000 high-achieving students from low income backgrounds could transfer to four-year colleges each year but don’t, often due to cost. The Cooke Transfer Scholarship is designed to create a clear pathway to a four-year degree by offering up to $55,000 per year along with academic advising and access to a network of peers.

Since 2002, 24 Perimeter students have received the scholarship, many transferring to institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State. The 2021 winners, Awa Cisse and Gideon Melvin, are both continuing their undergraduate studies at Yale University. Papa Ebo Quainoo became a Jack Kent Cooke scholar last year, transferring to Georgia Tech to study engineering.

This year’s Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship will be announced in April.

Photo: Top row, left to right: Julian Umana-Bernal, Ariel Ford, Paula Gil, Tierra Grant and Kseniya Harrington. Bottom row, left to right: Serin Kim, Mens Muzyin, Tsinat Nure, Areej Rizwan and Madelief Tilder.