PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Two students at the Community College of Philadelphia are among only 90 nationwide to win the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Foundation scholarship, which helps students pursue four-year degrees.
Kamal Rhodes, 33, and Olivia Schade, 21, were chosen from among 1,600 applicants. It’s the first time two CCP students have won the Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship in the same year.
“This is completely life changing,” Schade told KYW Newsradio. “I’ve worked full time through college while being in full-time classes up to this point, and this is going to allow me to obviously not have student debt, which is really important, and then it’s also just going to allow me time to work less and focus more on my studies, being the best student I can be.”
Schade plans to use her scholarship to study biology and neuroscience at Bucknell University.
“My time at CCP was really incredible. I got to be a part of the Bucknell Community Scholars program, where I participated in classes at Bucknell last summer, and that really kind of changed the whole trajectory of my educational journey,” she said.
The trajectory of Rhodes’ life changed as a teenager.
“I was a teenage father. I had my first child at 17. It made it difficult to even go and pursue an education,” he said. “It caused me like to do unconventional learning. I started looking on YouTube, teaching and training myself digital skills. I learned how to do photography, video production. From there, I started teaching myself how to design websites. And just doing these different odd jobs, freelancing, I ended up landing myself [an IT] position at Jefferson.”
Rhodes intends to study architecture at Temple University.
“My child is now at the point where he’s old enough to go to college himself in the next two years,” Rhodes said. “I’ll be able to be that role model to show him that it’s possible.”
The Cooke Foundation scholarships provide last-dollar aid of up to $55,000 a year to finish a bachelor’s degree.
Community College of Philadelphia is also raising funds https://foundation.ccp.edu/gala for its own student scholarships at a gala on June 12.
