March 11, 2025
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation has named 13 Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY) students as semifinalists for its highly competitive Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. Among CUNY and New York State community colleges, BMCC has the highest number of semifinalists
The BMCC students were among the 467 semifinalists chosen from a pool of more than 1,600 applicants who attend 212 community colleges in 43 states. The rigorous selection process assesses candidates on their exceptional academic ability and achievement, demonstrated financial need, perseverance, and leadership.
The BMCC semifinalists for the prestigious scholarship are; Jean Stephane Kakou (Public and Non-Profit Admin), Francis Koroma (Public and Non-Profit Admin), Kristel Saraci (Computer Information Systems), Shelby Servis (Liberal Arts), Daniela Primera (Communication Studies), Shani Malul (Political Science) Pyae Paing (Financial Management), Htet Aung Lin (Multimedia Prgm Design), Jerome Gayman (Video Arts and Technology AS), Anne Samuele Francois, (Liberal Arts), Abdoulaye AlhassaneDiallo (Computer Science), Armando Encinas (Engineering Science) and Mahumevo Akpo (Computer Information Systems).
This Cooke Undergraduate Transfer scholarship empowers exceptional community college students with financial need to transfer to the nation’s top four-year institutions while avoiding the burden of student debt. The award, which is last dollar funding after all institutional aid, can provide as much as $55,000 per year for two to three years to complete a bachelor’s degree at any accredited four-year undergraduate institution in the U.S.
“Our Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship represents a lifeline for exceptional community college students to actualize their academic dreams,” said Giuseppe “Seppy” Basili, Executive Director of the Cooke Foundation. “This year’s semifinalists exemplify the extraordinary talent found within community colleges across America, and we’re excited to congratulate this group as we celebrate a quarter century of work as a Foundation.”
The BMCC semifinalists reached this point in their journey with the support of faculty and staff including BMCC Scholarship Manager Sussie Gyamfi, who guided the students through their application process.
“My heartfelt congratulations to all the 2025 semifinalists,” said Ms. Gyamfi.
The scholarship, she explains, is open to all students, regardless of their academic major or immigration status. The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation selects candidates based on academic excellence, financial need, community service, leadership qualities and perseverance.
“The remarkable efforts and dedication of the semifinalists have brought them to this achievement,” Gyamfi says. “I’m thrilled for them and look forward to even better news when the finalists are announced later this Spring. I’m so very proud of every single student engaged in this process, regardless of the outcome in May.”
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation will announce the Cooke finalists—scholarship winners—in May.
In 2024, BMCC Computer Science major Dan Lin won the Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. Lin was the only CUNY student to win last year’s transfer scholarship and one of just three winners from all of New York State’s community colleges in 2024.
Learn more about BMCC scholarships, awards and opportunities.
- BMCC Semifinalists were among the 467 semifinalists chosen nationwide from a pool of 1600
- Scholarship winners will be announced in May
