March 2023
Cooke Alums at Scholars Weekend 2016
Compass Feature: Qian Qian Tang
2001 Young Scholar, 2006 College Scholar,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Qian Qian Tang was in the very first cohort of Cooke Young Scholars, and afterr graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy, she attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a Cooke College Scholar. After earning her MBA at Harvard Business School, Qian Qian now works as Senior Vice President of Growth & Strategic Initiatives at UnitedHealth Group. In the below video, Qian Qian shares the importance of bringing healthy practices into the workplace to benefit your wellbeing.
Check out more of Qian Qian’s videos here.
MyLien Nguyen
2007 Undergraduate Transfer Scholar, 2015 Graduate Scholar, Academy of Art University
MyLien recently joined the art department at Westfield State University as a visiting lecturer teaching UX/UI Design.
She has had the goal of being a teacher since she began her academic journey, “Before, I had dreams of teaching elementary education, but because of my chosen career path, I would have had to completely redo my Bachelors program. So I opted to stay the course.”
When MyLien received the Graduate Scholarship from the Foundation, she pursued her MFA degree, which allowed her to teach on a college level. She recently got a call from a friend who teaches at Westfield State University who presented her with a teaching opportunity, “Now I have literally reached all my life goals. And a majority of it is due to the Foundation.”
You can learn more about MyLien’s academic and professional journey here.
Graham Pearce
2016 Undergraduate Transfer Scholar, University of Wisconsin - Madison
Graham recently took a position with a new consulting firm started by one of his former colleagues.
Pulling from 2.5 years of prior experience working as a a data analytics manager for a consulting firm, Graham was able to step into this new position and design a data process pipeline from the ground up. He currently oversees all data management and reporting on a 70-person, $2B strategic sourcing initiative for a Fortune 500 manufacturing client. He is excited to manage this project for the next 4+ years.
You can learn more about Graham’s academic and professional journey here.
Dr. Antonie Dvorakova
2013 Graduate Scholar, Stanford University
Dr. Antonie Dvorakova recently published her most recent study titled, “Can socio-economically disadvantaged, marginalized backgrounds facilitate resilience and educational attainment?”
A research analyst at Northumbria University, Newcastle, Dr. Dvorakova’s research involves vulnerable, indigenous, and racialized populations, which often live in socio-economically disadvantaged environments and circumstances typically associated with social pathology. In her interdisciplinary work, Dr. Dvorakova employs innovative approaches from the fields of cultural psychology, Indigenous Nations studies and the broader field of comparative human development towards studying resilience and well-being among individuals who exhibited remarkable persistence and success in transcending various adversities, trauma and marginalization.
Dr. Dvorakova’s most recent study develops a deep understanding of crucial interest to not only educational practitioners and policymakers, but also marginalized minority members, who can benefit from learning how differentiated and distinctive meaning systems associated with social mobility trajectories can hinder/facilitate resilience.
You can learn more about Dr. Dvorakova’s academic and professional journey here.
Brielle F. Bell
2006 Young Scholar, 2011 College Scholar, University of Tampa
Brielle was recently certified to practice law in her home city of Washington D.C. Brielle currently works as an attorney at Bush Ross’s Corporate and Transactional Practice Group in Tampa, FL.
While she will continue to practice law in Tampa, she is excited to be sworn in as a DC attorney. For other Scholars and Alums interested in practicing law in multiple jurisdictions, Brielle has the following advice: “I applied for certification into the DC Bar based on my 2019 MBE score. If you’d like to practice in multiple jurisdictions, there are several options. You can take the Uniform Bar Exam, currently accepted by about 34 US States and use that score to apply for specific jurisdictions, or you can apply for reciprocity if the state accepts your qualifying MBE score. Typically there are other requirements, so check with each state’s bar to confirm the procedures.”
To learn more about her academic and professional journey, click here. To hear Brielle share her experience as an attorney, visit Compass and watch our “So You Think You Want to Go to Law School” panel.
The Latest from the CookeAlumni.org Blog
Upcoming Event: Career Perspectives in Finance Virtual Session
Date: Thursday, March 16th at 5PM ET
What is investing, and why might you be interested in it? How does one break into the field, particularly from a less traditional background? Hear from three Cooke Scholar Alums on their experiences in the investing world and advice for those considering similar careers.
Register here.
Submit Internship Opportunities for Cooke Scholars
Let’s open professional doors for Cooke Scholars by offering summer internships. If you or your employer are hiring for summer 2023, we can advertise your opportunities within the Scholar community. Click here to share the details.
The Cooke Foundation summer internship stipend funds Scholars who participate in unpaid internships at nonprofit and government organizations. If any of the following apply to you, we would love to work with you to create internships for Cooke Scholars to support your work:
You work for or volunteer with a nonprofit organization
You are a government employee
You have started your own nonprofit organization
You are a teacher or professor doing research or academic work over the summer
You had a great unpaid summer internship at an organization that continues to hire summer interns
You have friends or colleagues at U.S.-based nonprofit organizations who are looking for summer interns
Tell us about the opportunity. Jennifer Krasilovsky, Dean of Career Services, will be in touch with you to discuss the possibility of setting up an internship.
Thrive Together this Month!
For the month of March, we are encouraging Scholars and Alums to come together for a community service or volunteer activity. We suggest getting together with your fellow Cooke Scholars and Alums and doing something that will benefit others.
Some ideas to consider: volunteering with a community organization or food pantry, collecting clothing donations for the economically insecure, cleaning up a local park, or other altruistic activities like those listed at the bottom of this page. You could even get crafty together and make dog toys out of old t-shirts to donate to a local animal shelter!
Though the focus of this activity is on making a positive impact on the world around you, take some time to grab some coffee or a quick bite to eat with your group before or after volunteering if you'd like, and you can submit the expense for reimbursement. Be sure to take a photo of your group during your Thrive Together activity and send it with a description of what you did to Thrive@jkcf.org. And if you post your activities on social media, please make sure you tag the Foundation's accounts so we see it.
Last Chance to Apply for the 2023 Quinn & Belcher Awards
The Foundation is now accepting applications for the Quinn Prize and the Belcher Award. Recipients will be chosen based on extraordinary achievement in an academic field, the arts, or public service. Such achievements might include the development of an innovative solution to a societal problem, creation of a significant community program, or publication of an important work.
The deadline to apply is tomorrow, Friday, March 3, 2023.
Learn more information about the Quinn & Belcher Prizes and apply here.
Calling Alums to Host Virtual Chats
Do you have a career or academic topic that you’re passionate about? Are you looking to share your experience and skills with the Cooke community? We would love to help you host an alumni virtual chat!
Please email alumni@jkcf.org if you’re interested in hosting a virtual chat! Include your name, chat topic, and your preferred dates and availability. You can also check out this link to see examples of past virtual events.
Have you joined the Cooke Scholars and Alums Private LinkedIn Group?
Learn about upcoming events, gain access to internship and fellowship opportunities, and connect with fellow Cooke Scholars and Alums.
Share an update with us!
Alums, do you want to be featured in an upcoming Alumni Buzz? Do you have an academic, professional, or personal update to share? We would love to hear it!
Throwback Photo: Cooke Scholars at Scholars Weekend 2016