Local Holly Springs High School graduate Sarah Allevato has been named a Cooke Scholar by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is the largest privately funded scholarship in the nation. Not only are they the largest in the school expenses they cover—which includes full tuition, books, housing, and study abroad opportunities – but they also have the largest number of applicants from across the nation. As a winner of the Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship all of her expenses will be covered, from tuition to textbooks at NC State University, her chosen transfer school. Sarah graduated from Holly Springs High School in 2016 and had no money for college.
With little more than a dream and desire to pursue higher education, she met with a Wake Tech Community College counselor who said she would be able to earn an associates degree at Wake Tech with a Pell Grant that would cover all of her expenses because of her unmet financial need. Sarah thrived at Wake Tech with the help of their supportive professors, mentors, and tutors. She earned a 4.0 GPA, made the Dean’s List, and volunteered weekly at the Wake Tech Food Pantry.
Sarah desperately wanted to continue her education and earn a bachelor’s degree from NC State University, but had no money or resources to make that happen. In August, she set a goal that she would send out a least one scholarship essay submission a week. She surpassed that number, and in total sent out 73 scholarship essays since August. Trying to balance writing scholarship essays with being a full-time student at Wake Tech wasn’t easy. She was determined to find some way to continue her education beyond Wake Tech. Months went by without a positive response from any scholarships she’d applied to. She received 72 “I’m sorry, better luck next time” emails from countless scholarship organizations. Her financial situation was dire and that she was approaching a fork in the road at the end of her sophomore year at community college. Her future was hanging on the slim chance that she would get a big scholarship. If not, it would be time to join the workforce and shut the door on her educational dreams at the time.
After months of hearing nothing, word came that Sarah was a semi-finalist for the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship in February. The news brought her to tears, as the first positive feedback from all the applications sent out. The waiting time between the semi-finalist notification and the winner’s announcement was filled with waiting, praying, and believing. The Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship would determine what path she would follow at the end of the semester. In April of 2018, she received the news that out of 2,300 of the nation’s most academically gifted students from community colleges ranging from Alaska, to Texas, to New York, Sarah had been selected as one of the 2018 Cooke Scholars. She was one of only two students selected from North Carolina. She had won one of the most rigorous and exclusive scholarship competitions in the nation. Sarah considers it an honor to be named a Cooke Scholar and promises to live up to that title and distinction.
Winning the scholarship is life-altering for her, in large part thanks to the support from the Cooke Foundation and their trust that she’s a student worth investing in. The scholarship has motivated her beyond all comparison to pursue her goals, and has given her the confidence that she’s capable of reaching all of the far-off dreams that she’s harbored for so long. Winning this scholarship has silenced all of her doubts that she was unqualified, undeserving, or not good enough to pursue higher education.
This summer, she will be studying abroad in London before transferring to NC State University to pursue her bachelor’s degree in Psychology. From there, she plans on going to graduate school at Harvard University, where she expects to get the qualifications and skills she needs to become an exceptional lawyer. “The support I have received from Wake Tech, and before that Holly Springs High School, has been invaluable to me. From my teachers and professors, to tutoring staff and mentors they have all equipped me with everything I need to succeed as a Jack Kent Cooke Scholar, at NC State, and beyond,” she told us.
She hopes that her story inspires other students who want to go further with their education, but don’t have the means to make it possible. “Just remember, a winner is only a loser who tried one more time.”
