For Jack Kent Cooke Foundation (JKCF) scholars, this year’s Scholars Weekend from August 2-5 was a place to reaffirm the power of community for the high-achieving, low-income students.
Through event sessions on college success, career pathways and financial management, inspiring keynotes from artists and alumni scholars and a talent show and dance party, Cooke Foundation leaders gave the scholars resources and relationships to “thrive together.”
The event theme “Who are You?” centered students’ individual experiences and brought together a cohort of first-year scholars, returning scholars entering into their senior year and transfer scholars, including two who will be attending Princeton University.
In the weekend’s opening address, students heard from alumni scholar Dr. William A. Tarpeh, a Cooke Young Scholar and College Scholar who will be an assistant professor of chemical engineering at Stanford University beginning this fall.
Tarpeh spoke about his academic journey and inspired the scholars to cultivate their long-lasting identity as high-achieving scholars more-so than the “low-income” identifier, because their financial status is transient.
“Don’t mistake your core identity for your temporary circumstances,” he said.
Scholars Weekend also featured alumni-led programming focused on scholars’ academic and professional success. Sessions exposed scholars to various career pathways and touched on navigating financial aid and finances, how to “thrive” as a scholar, ways to get involved in research and how to conquer imposter syndrome, among other topics.
