Three Queensborough students, Kyle Chin-How, Daysi Proano and Silvia Salamone have each been awarded a Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship of $40,000 per year to complete their baccalaureate degrees. They are three of 90 Scholars selected from 2,061 applications representing 540 community colleges from across the U.S.
Last year, Yueting Chen was the first ever Queensborough recipient of this transfer scholarship award. Currently she is conducting research in Genetics at Stony Brook University, taking full advantage of her scholarship and furthering her academic studies and professional ambitions. Yueting presented at Columbia University's CUSJ Undergraduate Research Conference on April 26, 2015.
The scholarship is for top community college students seeking to transfer to senior colleges so they can complete their bachelor's degrees. It is the largest private transfer scholarship and provides up to $40,000 per year to help cover a significant share of the student's educational expenses including tuition, living expenses and books for the final two to three years necessary to achieve a bachelor's degree.
Honors student Kyle Chin-How will graduate this spring with an Associate degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences. He is a member of the Lambda Sigma Chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society and carries a 3.8 G.P.A. In addition to being an outstanding student, Kyle is a leader and mentor both on and off campus. He is a Model Senator in the NYS Session Senate Project, has held leadership positions in the College's Student Government Association and is an intern with the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG). At the college Kyle established "Talk Out Loud," a student public speaking group. He is also a mentor to students of Men Achieving and Leading in Excellence and Success (M.A.L.E.S.).
Daysi Proano, a Science for Forensics major, will graduate in May with an Associate degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences. She is planning to transfer to John Jay College where she is currently taking junior courses on permit with the intent to continue her studies in the same field.
Daysi, who has a 3.85 G.P.A. was named to the 2015 Phi Theta Kappa All New York Academic Team and is a Bronze Scholar on Coca-Cola's 2015 Community College Academic team. This past summer she was selected for a paid summer National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF REU) internship in organic synthesis at Georgetown University. This year she was awarded a similar internship in Molecular Biophysics at Princeton University. She has already completed more than 25 honors credits in Chemistry, Biology and Calculus and has presented her Honors contract and class work during the last two Honors Conferences. In addition she has conducted research under Dr. Paris Svoronos of the Chemistry Department, and has presented her findings at professional Chemistry and Biology conferences including Columbia's Undergraduate Research Symposium and Yale's MARM Meeting.
Silvia Salamone, who has a 4.0 G.P.A., is also graduating this spring with an Associate degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences. This year she was named as the first ever Queensborough Gold Scholar on Coca-Cola's 2015 Community College Academic Team as well as the 2015 Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) New York Team. In 2014 she was a senator for the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and was awarded a summer internship at the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (NYC-DEP). During the academic year she has been conducting nanochemistry research under Dr. David Sarno of the Chemistry Department and has presented her research findings at CUNY's Research Symposium and at West Connecticut State University. She has also tutored biology and chemistry students at the Queensborough Learning Center. She was offered three different NSF REU paid summer internships during the summer of 2015 and will be attending the University of Connecticut.
"It is an extraordinary accomplishment that three of the 90 national scholars selected came from Queensborough," said Dr. Diane B. Call, President of Queensborough Community College. "I am thrilled knowing that Queensborough continues to be recognized for its leadership in providing a high quality education for all of our students."
Drs. Paris Svoronos of the Department of Chemistry and Emily Tai of the Department of History, who serve as co-advisors of Queensborough's Lambda Sigma Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the International Honor Society for two-year College students that solicit nominees for the Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship were key players in the students' successes.
"Students must possess more than excellent grades to qualify for this distinguished award," said Dr. Paris Svoronos, Professor in the Chemistry Department. "They must also demonstrate their persistence and dedication to being outstanding researchers, leaders and mentors. This can be evidenced by their commitment to undertake challenges such as a research project where failure serves in strengthening the individual's character."
"Ms. Proano, Ms. Salamone, and Mr. Chin-How all embody the best ideals of Phi Theta Kappa: leadership, fellowship, service, and academic excellence. Mr. Chin-How has distinguished himself as a leader in Queensborough's Student Government and has an outstanding, thoughtful intellect; Ms. Proano and Ms. Salamone are both talented and promising young scientists, who have also contributed critically as officers of Queensborough's Lambda Sigma chapter. It is so wonderful to see each of them honored with the award of this important scholarship from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation!" Dr. Emily S. Tai, Associate Professor of History.
Ranked in the top 100 community colleges among approximately 1,200 community colleges nationwide by Community College Week, the College is committed to open-admission access for all learners and to academic excellence. Queensborough is one of the most diverse campuses nationwide, with students coming from 143 different countries, speaking 84 different languages. The ethnicity of the student body is almost evenly split among African Americans, Asians, Caucasians and Latinos. Queensborough is a critical gateway into higher education for many students who are the first in their families to attend college.
Queensborough Community College, a college of The City University of New York, is located on a lush 37-acre campus in Bayside, Queens, New York. The College was established in 1959 on the former site of the historic Oakland Golf Club and offers a rich liberal arts and science curriculum as well as career and pre-professional courses. The College's transfer programs are designed for students who plan to continue their studies at a four-year institution. Career programs provide the academic foundation and training for students who plan to begin or advance a promising career. Queensborough offers the Associate in Arts (A.A.), the Associate in Science (A.S.) and the Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.) degrees, as well as non-credit Continuing Education programs. More than 16,000 credit and another 10,000 Continuing Education students are enrolled at Queensborough. Nearly 70 percent of graduates transfer to senior colleges or universities, and others obtain the necessary skills for career advancement.
The College has several Dual/Joint Degree programs with its sister CUNY institutions: Nursing with Hunter College, York College and CUNY School of Professional Studies; Biotechnology with York College; Criminal Justice, Forensic Accounting and Forensic Science with John Jay College of Criminal Justice; and Education with Queens College.
The College is also dedicated to providing cultural and artistic opportunities to students and the community through the Queensborough Performing Arts Center (QPAC), QCC Art Gallery and the Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center and Archives.
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