VCU '08 Medical School Student is named Jack Kent Cooke Foundation

By Michael Ford
University News Services

An incoming Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine student is among 39 students nationwide chosen to receive a Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholarship, an award that can total up to $50,000.

The student, Mireille D.Truong, B.S., '03, graduated summa cum laude, also from VCU, with a 4.0 grade point average and received the dean's award for academic excellence. Truong speaks four languages and teaches the piano. As an undergraduate, she took charge of an intercultural festival at the university and turned it into a major annual event for students and city residents. She also served as the student body vice-president.

"We developed this program to offer outstanding individuals the financial freedom to pursue their highest calling through advanced education," said Matthew J. Quinn, Ph.D., the foundation's executive director. "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."

Truong, who also serves as a translator for Spanish-speaking patients at the Richmond Medical Center for Women and has volunteered in nursing homes and in a hospital emergency room, plans to specialize in gynecology and obstetrics at the VCU School of Medicine.

"I am excited for her but not at all surprised that Mireille received this recognition," said Timothy A. Reed, Ph.D., director of University Student Commons and Activities. "She is an excellent student and a superb leader. She has done so much for the VCU student community. It is gratifying to see that she has been recognized by the Cooke Foundation."

Regarded as the largest scholarships offered by a private foundation in the United States, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholarship awards can reach $50,000. Each award can cover some or all of the scholar's tuition, room and board, fees and books for the duration of the scholar's approved degree program to any accredited graduate school in the United States or abroad, up to six years.

Chosen from a pool of 1, 226 nominees from 747 colleges, the new scholars attended college in 20 states and are natives of 10 countries. U.S. colleges or universities may nominate up to two candidates for the awards. Since 2002, the foundation has awarded 132 graduate scholarships worth $24 million.

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is a private, independent foundation established in 2000 by the estate of the former owner of the NFL Washington Redskins to help young people of exceptional promise reach their full potential through education. Besides the Graduate Scholarship Program, the foundation's programs for outstanding students with financial need also include full scholarships for students transferring from community college to complete a four-year degree and scholarships to help high-achieving youth develop their talents and abilities throughout high school. http://www.jackkentcookefoundation.org.