News
DCB graduate named as a Jack Kent Cooke scholarship recipient
Scott Wagar
05/08/2012
Dakota College at Bottineau graduate, Jacob Bean, has been awarded the Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship, which grants him $30,000 a year for three years to assist him in completing his college education.
“I feel extremely blessed to get this scholarship,” Bean said, “I really had favor in this scholarship.”
The scholarship originated for Bean this past year when he was named a North Dakota New Century Scholar and attended its national conference in New Orleans.
“While there, I met and got to know a lot of the other New Century Scholars. We started a Facebook page and kept up,” Bean said. “Last fall, some of the New Century Scholars were talking about the Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. I didn’t know anything about the scholarship, so I researched it and decided to enter.”
In the application process, just over a thousand scholars applied for the scholarship with only 60 students awarded.
“I was completely shocked to hear that I had been one of the 60 students to receive the scholarship,” said Bean, who stated that he had given up on the idea of winning the money because DCB kept the scholarship from Bean until the college’s faculty and staff luncheon this spring where it was finally granted to him. “I had already resigned to the fact that I didn’t get it, so it was completely unexpected. I’m very much excited. This scholarship opens up so many doors for my educational future.”
Presently, Bean has been accepted to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Ga.; Shorter University in Rome, Ga; College of Charleston in Charleston, S.C. and the College of the Atlantic in Maine.
“With this scholarship money I can afford to attend all of those colleges,” Bean said. “The most financially sound plan would be to attend Shorter where I could walk away from my Bachelors Degree with no debt, because I have a full ride to Shorter already; and then, I could study abroad.”
Where Bean has chosen to study is uncertain at the moment, but where he decides to go he will be earning his bachelor degree in communications with a concentration in media/PR/advertising and double minor in photography and theater.
However, one thing is for certain for Bean, he is thankful to a number of individuals at the DCB for assisting him in receiving the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship.
“I want to thank Dr. Ken Grosz for filling out the applications to get me nominated, Mike Porter for nominating me and helping me with the application process, my parents for helping me fill out the application and to Dr. Grosz and Keri Keith for writing letters of recommendation for me. As well as to the big guy upstairs for having favor on me.”