Bukuru Josephine - Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship Semifinalist

CLARKSTON, Ga. — Bukuru Josephine, a health science professions pathway student at Georgia State University Perimeter College, moved to the United States from Burundi with her family when she was a small child. Currently a student on Perimeter’s Clarkston Campus, Josephine is a 2026 Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship semifinalist.

When asked what it would mean for her if she won the Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship, she said, “I would be able to dream without a burden, and my family wouldn’t have to worry about what I could potentially pursue.”

Josephine has been busy during her time at Perimeter with various student organizations, like Student Government Association (secretary, speaker pro tempore) and Health Professions Club (secretary). She earned the International Virtual Exchange Badge Award in the Virtual Exchange program, participated in research with Perimeter’s Center for Outreach and Research Engagement (C.O.R.E.) and was accepted to study in Belize alongside a faculty advisor and other students for the Belize Tropical Biology program during Maymester 2026. She was also accepted into the CREST D-MAP Undergraduate Research cohort with Georgia State University for Summer 2026.

What has been the best aspect of attending Perimeter College?
My favorite thing about joining Perimeter was how I was able to meet people from different walks of life. Some people were nontraditional, some were dual enrollment students and some were already in their dream jobs but wanted a degree. I really liked how everyone was in different phases of life yet pursuing the same goal, which is getting an education. Coming on campus and seeing that every day was truly amazing and motivating.

What’s next for you?
I hope to attend Emory University after Perimeter, but I am keeping my options open for all the possibilities out there.

What are your career goals?
My final career goal is to become a psychiatrist and open my own clinic. I have seen how mental health has affected people in the immigrant and refugee community, but many of them don’t fully understand what mental health is or what to do. I want to bring my practice to the center of the people who truly need it and provide the support they deserve. I have so many dreams and goals, but right now my focus is on finishing my education and becoming a psychiatrist.

What motivates you to keep moving forward with your academic and career journey?
Growing up in a family of eleven siblings and being the second oldest has shaped the way I move through the world. I have always felt the eyes of my younger siblings on me, not as a burden but as a reminder that I set the standard for what is possible. Their belief in me, along with the sacrifices my parents and my community have made, fuels me every morning when I wake up and every night before I go to sleep. Their effort is my motivation, and their dreams are woven into my own.

What experiences shaped who you are today and where you want to go with your career?
Growing up as the second oldest of eleven siblings taught me responsibility early and shaped the way I see my future. Before doing my own homework, my twin sister and I would help our younger siblings with theirs because they had to leave for school earlier than we did. I wasn’t just their sister; I was their doctor when they felt sick, their teacher when they needed help and a listening ear whenever they needed someone to talk to. These experiences made me mature at a young age and taught me how to care for others, which naturally led me toward health care, research and a desire to become someone people can trust with their well-being.

How have you overcome challenges and experienced growth?
I graduated in the top 10% of my high school class, and I truly believed I would go straight to a four-year university. Instead, everything came to a halt because of my missing documents needed for enrollment. I couldn’t work, and I couldn’t enroll in any school. That paperwork forced me into a gap semester I never planned for. It was hard. I felt like my dreams were slipping away, and I carried a guilt that shouldn’t have been mine to hold. The "what if’s" ran through my mind constantly, but eventually I shifted my thinking from what if to when.

Once we got it all worked out, I told myself, I will start school at a community college where I can move at a steady pace. As a first-generation, low-income student, I never imagined community college as my path. I wanted to reach for the stars immediately. The situation felt like my biggest setback, but it forced me to sit with myself and ask what I wanted badly enough to wait for and how hard I was willing to work once I finally got the chance. Enrolling at Georgia State University Perimeter College was a gift in disguise.

Perimeter College has been home to an impressive number of recipients of the national Jack Kent Cooke (JKC) Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. Since 2002, 30 Perimeter students have received the competitive award from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, which offers each winner up to $55,000 per year for up to three years. It’s the country’s largest private scholarship for two-year and community college transfer students. Perimeter JKC winners have succeeded in bachelor’s degree programs (and beyond) at Georgia State University and other prominent institutions such as Yale, Georgia Tech, MIT, Emory University, Howard University, University of Southern California, Stanford University and Agnes Scott College.