SPRINGFIELD – Jennifer Haggerty of Chandlerville, a student at Lincoln Land Community College, has been named a 2021 Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholar.
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation announced that Haggerty is among 72 high-achieving community college students selected to receive the prestigious Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. The highly competitive scholarship will provide these students with up to $40,000 a year for up to three years to complete their bachelor's degrees. Recipients of the scholarship were chosen from a pool of 1,300 applicants from 370 community colleges across the nation.
“We know how much exponentially harder this past year has been on students. It’s an honor to award this group of individuals as they have achieved so much both in the classroom and in their daily lives,” said Seppy Basili, executive director of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. “We are proud to welcome this new class of Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholars to our community and are excited to support them as they transition to four-year institutions.”
Haggerty, an active member of LLCC’s Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society chapter, is also one of two LLCC students chosen as members of the 2021 All-Illinois Academic Team and was named a 2020 Coca-Cola Leader of Promise Scholar. She returned to college after 17 years in the workforce and noted, “It has been so encouraging to be part of a group of goal-oriented individuals and supporting leadership staff. PTK has opened up opportunities in my education that I didn’t even dream possible.” After LLCC, she plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in nursing and hopes to attend graduate school to become a pediatric nurse practitioner.
According to the Cooke Foundation, nearly half of the students pursuing college choose to attend two-year institutions, and community college students who transfer to selective institutions have equal to or higher graduation rates than students who enrolled directly from high school or transferred from four-year institutions. The Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship seeks to increase the number of community college students completing their education at top four-year institutions.
In addition to financial support, Haggerty will receive comprehensive educational advising, opportunities for internships, study abroad and graduate school funding, as well as connection to a thriving network of Cooke Scholars and Alumni.