August 2, 2004

UCSB Graduate Student to Receive Prestigious Cooke Scholarship

Bill Schlotter

Catherine Medrano, who will enter the Ph.D. program in sociology at UC Santa Barbara this fall, has been chosen to receive one of 39 graduate scholarships given by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation this year.

Medrano, a native of Hanford, Calif., and the first in her family to earn a college degree, graduated magna cum laude from UC San Diego earlier this year. The Cooke scholarship will provide up to $50,000 per year to cover the costs of earning her doctorate.

"We developed this program to offer outstanding individuals the financial freedom to pursue their highest calling through advanced education," said Dr. Matthew J. Quinn, the foundation's executive director and a former college president. "In this group, we have found 39 of the finest students in America, and we expect they will make tremendous contributions to their professions and communities."

The Foundation has awarded 132 graduate scholarships worth $24 million since beginning the program in 2002.

This year's recipients were chosen from a pool of 1,226 nominees submitted by 747 universities.

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