Schools

Woodson Grad Awarded Prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship

Andy Shin just graduated from W.T. Woodson. How far will he go?

W.T. Woodson High School graduate Andrew Shin is going places. The 18-year-old was recently awarded the highly competitive Jack Kent Cooke college scholarship. 

"I'm beyond words with how grateful I am to the program," said Shin, who was also awarded a full scholarship to the College of William and Mary. 

The Foundation was founded in 2000 in memory of billionaire philanthropist Jack Kent Cooke. Since opening its doors, it has awarded more than $100 million in scholarships to over 1,900 students. 

Only 40 students from across the country receive this particular scholarship, which provides college advising and up to $30,000 a year for three years.  

Shin's relationship with the Foundation began when he was in the seventh grade and got a near-perfect score (a 790) on an SAT test through a program with Johns Hopkins University. He then applied and was accepted into the Jack Kent Cook Young Scholars Program. 

"The Young Scholars Program is about getting you through high school," said Shin. "They pay for summer camps, a laptop computer, the calculators for math classes and they help you plan out what you want to achieve that year. And, you work with an advisor to see how much the Foundation can allocate in the budget that you want." 

The Foundation also assisted Shin when he was diagnosed with epilepsy his freshman year at Woodson. 

"That was a big transition, and there were complications on my new medicine regimen and there were complications with that to fix my dosages," said Shin. "And I needed strict exercise to keep the seizures at bay, so I decided to pick up Crew, which is a fairly expensive sport in Fairfax County, because Fairfax County Public Schools doesn't recognize it as an actual sport. The foundation was able to pay for all of my crew fees, which was awesome."

Shin, who wants to be a neurologist, also took two internships over summer breaks at the University of Pittsburg (all paid for by the Foundation), where he developed an atlas for neuroanatonomy (the study of the anatomy and stereotyped organization of nervous systems) of the musk shrew and developed a program that uses ultrasound technology to operate prosthetics. 

Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship Programs

Young Scholars Program - Up to 60 young scholars receive educational advising and support from the eighth grade through high school. 

College Scholarship Program - Up to 40 college scholars receive up to $30,000 a year for three years, plus college planning support.

Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship - Up to 75 undergrad transfer scholars receive up to $30,000 a year for three years to complete their degree.  

Graduate Arts Award - Up to 20 scholars are given up to $50,000 per year to attend an accredited graduate institution for Master's degrees in creative writing, visual arts and performing arts. 

Dissertation Fellowship - Six doctoral scholars receive a one-time award of $25,000 to be spent within an 18-month period while they complete their dissertations.




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