Jack kent cooke transfer scholarship winners 2022

Cordero Holmes, a 2022 graduate of Rio Salado College, is one of 100 recipients of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s prestigious Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. The highly competitive national scholarship will provide Holmes with up to $55,000 a year to complete his bachelor’s degree.

Holmes is no stranger to prestigious academic awards. The Class of 2022 Commencement Speaker, Holmes was also recognized this year as a 2022 All-Arizona Academic Scholar and a recipient of the Coca-Cola Academic Team Scholarship. A devoted father, husband, and full-time employee, Holmes started at Rio Salado as an Incarcerated student and worked his way up to becoming a distinguished student and leader at Rio Salado and in his community. He plans to further his studies in counseling at either ASU or U of A.

“It is a very humbling feeling to receive the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship,” Holmes said. “I think about how much this is going to assist me in not only furthering my education, but bettering my family, my people, and my community.”

Cordero grew up in West Phoenix and is an enrolled member of the Tohoho O’Odham Nation in southern Arizona.

Rio Salado College President Kate Smith noted all of Holmes’ many accolades this year.

“Cordero Holmes, recent Rio grad, once again raises the bar on the level of inspiration and accomplishment one can achieve,” Smith said. “We celebrate all he accomplished to earn these prestigious awards and look forward to the incredible impact he will have moving forward.”

In the 2020-21 academic year, four-year colleges and universities saw nearly 200,000 fewer transfer enrollment applications nationwide, reflecting the pandemic’s disruptive effect on students and their plans for college. Despite that decline, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation welcomed its largest class of Scholars to date, highlighting the talent and achievement of hundreds of community college students across the country. In light of growing financial hardship for so many families, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation also increased the maximum award amount by an extra $15,000 to ensure students can focus on their studies while enrolled. 

“Today, almost half of all college students begin their academic career at a community college. We know our community colleges are full of high-achieving students, and we’re committed to playing our part to ensure those students succeed,” said Seppy Basili, executive director of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. “Congratulations to a cohort of students who have persisted in the midst of such unprecedented disruptions in our lives. We welcome you into our community and look forward to learning alongside you.”

New Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholars will receive comprehensive educational advising to guide them through the process of transitioning to a four-year college and preparing for their careers. Along with financial support, Scholars will additionally receive opportunities for internships, study abroad, and graduate school funding, as well as a connection to a thriving network of over nearly 3,000 Cooke Scholars and Alumni.

Holmes isn’t the only Rio student to have received this prestigious scholarship: Rio Salado student Kat Robinson was part of a past cohort of Cooke recipients. 

In addition to receiving the Cooke transfer scholarship, Holmes is one of only 10 students to receive Phi Theta Kappa's 2022 Hites Transfer Scholarship, the society's most prestigious and largest scholarship offering. As a Hites Scholar, Cordero will receive $7,500 and a medallion. Hites Scholars are selected based on a combination of outstanding academic achievement, leadership, and community engagement.  

Holmes served as Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society’s Arizona Regional Development Officer, as well as a leader in the PTK chapter at Rio Salado College.

The Hites Family Community College Scholarship Foundation was established by Robert Hites, an executive with Ralston-Purina in St. Louis, Missouri. The Hites Scholarship Program is made possible by the Hites Family Community College Scholarship Foundation and the Phi Theta Kappa Foundation.

Mark Farag is an engineering student at Union County College in New Jersey with a 3.92 GPA. He also serves as an ambassador for NASA’s Lucy mission and has participated in two programs for NASA’s L’Space Academy, where he chose and designed components for spacecrafts to study Venus. He also tutors students at the college’s Academic Learning Center and has served as president of the college’s chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.

All while working full-time at Amazon to support himself.

Farag, who plans to become a project manager aerospace engineer, is among 100 community college students named 2022 Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholars, which includes a scholarship of up to $55,000 a year to complete their baccalaureate. Along with financial support, scholars receive opportunities for internships, study abroad and graduate school funding, as well as a connection to a network of over nearly 3,000 Cooke Scholars and alumni.

“Today, almost half of all college students begin their academic career at a community college. We know our community colleges are full of high-achieving students, and we’re committed to playing our part to ensure those students succeed,” Seppy Basili, executive director of the foundation, said in a release.

The foundation this year awarded more scholarships than ever at 100. Last year, it awarded 72. In 2020, it was 50. The foundation also increased its award limit this year by $15,000, to $55,000.

More than 1,200 students from 332 community colleges applied this year for the scholarship. The foundation evaluates submissions based on students’ academic ability and achievement, financial need, persistence and leadership.

Several colleges have multiple students this year earning the honor. Miami Dade College in Florida has five recipients, while Bronx Community College in New York, Bergen Community College in New Jersey and Diablo Valley College in California, among others, have four students. Several colleges have three and two students.

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