Contact: Vance Lancaster, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Marketing & Communications, 703-723-8000, vlancaster@jackkentcookefoundation.org  

LANDSDOWNE, Va., May 22 /Standard Newswire/ -- The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is pleased to introduce its 2007 College Scholarship recipients, 46 high-achieving high-school students who have overcome economic adversity to prepare themselves for some of the nation's top colleges. Even as more applications poured into top schools than in any previous year, nearly one-third of the scholarship recipients will head to Ivy League schools. At least six of the scholarship recipients will attend Harvard, with three heading to Stanford, and two each to Yale, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania. Other Cooke College Scholars will attend Georgetown, Juilliard, Wellesley, Dartmouth, Brown, and the University of Chicago.

"The educational opportunities that we provide during high school through our Young Scholars Program coupled with funding for college makes it possible for lower-income students to realize their potential - this is especially important given the rapidly-escalating costs of higher education," said Dr. Matthew J. Quinn, the Foundation's executive director. "These are exceptional kids. We have been working closely with them since the 8th grade to nurture their talents and help them identify and develop what they would most like to accomplish in their lives."

Drawn from the Foundation's groundbreaking Young Scholars Program, the College Scholarship recipients have excelled academically throughout junior high and high school. When all is said and done, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation may well have supported and helped these students for as many as 15 years, with an investment of between $100,000 to $500,000 each depending on the Scholar's need and other scholarships that the Foundation can help them secure.

The Scholars display a wide range of interests and experiences:

• Jaehyun Im balanced research in molecular biology with trumpet lessons at Juilliard.

• While pursuing her career goal of becoming a constitutional lawyer, Katherine Walecka has won prizes for her poetry and excelled in rugby.

• Committed to a career in law, Prateek Kumar has also attended MIT's Research Science Institute and interned at the Yale Daily News.

• Growing up loving fine arts, Janiece Kelly developed a new passion for biomedical engineering in the tenth grade.

Recently hailed as "the Nobel Prize for 7th Graders" by the San Antonio Express-News, the Foundation's Young Scholars Program is the pre-eminent opportunity in the U.S. for high-potential high-school students whose families have limited financial resources. After selecting the Scholars, the Foundation provides them with the educational support and guidance they need to excel - including an educational adviser, high-end computers and Internet access, and supplementary educational services such as summer enrichment programs and music lessons.

"This unprecedented approach is clearly working," adds Quinn. "These young people are on track to be leaders in their fields and are certain to make a difference."

"Like a guiding beacon, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation has been a steady, calm voice beside me; a voice reminding me that yes, indeed, I can reach farther and higher and achieve more than I can dream," says Tanner Mathison of Plymouth, NH. "Beyond funding, the Foundation offered me counsel, confidence, connections and a vision to a future I had never dreamed was within my reach."

The 2007 College Scholarship recipients are (Student, Hometown, Intended Undergraduate Institution):

Anguel Alexiev, Granada Hills, CA, California Institute of Technology; Ryan Baril, Eau Claire, WI, University of Wisconsin at Madison; Kenneth Brewer, Provo, UT, Harvard University; Julian-Israel Canizares, Rockville, MD, Coast Guard Academy; Ola Canty, Washington, DC, Harvard University; Molly Christian, San Antonio, TX, Barnard College; Paul Dandridge, King William, VA, Indiana University; Peter Dugan, Upper Darby, PA, The Juilliard School; Sean Eagan, Cameron, WV, Bucknell University; Maria Frendberg, Clarkston, MI, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Miles Goldman, Wyomissing, PA, Brown University; Katelyn Goll, Lac du Flambeau, WI, Connecticut College; Rhiana Gunn-Wright, Chicago, IL, Yale University; Emily Hudson, Monmouth, IL, University of Iowa; Jaehyun Im, Closter, NJ, Harvard University; Elissa Jennings, Smyrna, TN, Harvard University; Samuel Johnson, Burlington, WI, Northwestern University; Daniel Jung, Houston, TX, University of Texas Plan II Honors Program; Janiece Kelly, San Antonio, TX, University of Pennsylvania; Prateek Kumar, Latham, NY, Harvard University; Bryan Lee, Falls Church, VA, University of California at Berkeley; Rachel Love, Palm Bay, FL, Johns Hopkins University; Neveen Mahmoud, Aldan, PA, Stanford University; Tanner Mathison, Plymouth, NH, Dartmouth College; Sang-Hee Min, Redmond, WA, Wellesley College; Michael Motola-Barnes, Tacoma, WA, Tufts University; Tess Mulder, Pittsburg, PA, Lesley University; Carl Nelson, Redford, MI, Rice University; Emann Odufu, Newark, NJ, Sarah Lawrence College; Gregory Peterson, Park Ridge, IL, Lawrence University; Dai-Minh Phan, Washington, DC, Stanford University; Alexandria Puderbaugh, Concordia, KS, Baker University; Larissa Rymko, Farmington Hills, MI, Loyola University; Sade Scott, Chicago, IL, Hampton University; John Scrutado, Califon, NJ, Yale University; Joseph Simmons, Irving, TX, University of Dallas; Seth Swingle, Stanardsville, VA, University of Chicago; Karis Tang-Quan, Palos Verdes, CA, Stanford University; Pengtao Teng, Tampa, FL, University of Pennsylvania; Marisela Trevino, San Antonio, TX, University of Texas at Austin; Warren Van Nus, Lawrenceville, GA, Georgia Institute of Technology; Katherine Walecka, Cincinnati, OH, Harvard University; Dustin Walker, Santa Clarita, CA, Georgetown University; Megan Wong, Seattle, WA, Princeton University; Brian Wu, Vienna, VA, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Shaun Zhang, Carrollton, GA, Washington University.

To learn more about the Cooke College Scholarships or the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, please contact Vance Lancaster at vlancaster@jackkentcookefoundation.org or 703-723-8000.

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is a private, independent foundation established in 2000 by the estate of Jack Kent Cooke to help young people of exceptional promise reach their full potential through education. In addition to the Young Scholars Program, the Foundation's programs for outstanding students with financial need also include full scholarships for graduate and professional schools, as well as scholarships for students from community colleges who want to earn four-year degrees.

"When I start to doubt myself, remembering that the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation believes in me and is on my side renews my drive and motivates me to keep shooting for the stars." - Peter Dugan, Upper Darby, PA

"Being a Young Scholar has opened so many doors for me, and, interestingly enough, they were not all academic doors." - Molly Christian, San Antonio, TX