Press Releases

October 18, 2002
Local Southampton College Student Wins Major Scholarship

Randy Burke is One of 79 Scholars Nationwide Tapped by Foundation

Contact:
Jane Finalborgo
(631) 287 8313
Fax: (631) 283 4081

Randy Burke of Southampton has been awarded a $30,000 annual scholarship from The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation to pursue his study of Graphic Design at Southampton College of Long Island University.

Burke was one of 79 undergraduate students throughout the country to receive a scholarship from the Foundation which operates one of the nation's most generous scholarship programs. In all, the Foundation awarded nearly $2 million to 79 undergraduate students from 37 states - half of whom will transfer from community colleges.

The scholarship will provide up to $30,000 annually for Burke's studies at Southampton College where he transferred this fall from Suffolk County Community College with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. Burke, 47, dropped out of high school after ninth grade, eventually started a construction company and then became fascinated with computers. He taught himself the basics of web design and, with the help of his wife Beth, entered Suffolk County Community College in 2000 where he excelled in art, computer and design classes. He graduated with honors and an associate's degree in computer art and founded StartHampton.com a business that designs web sites.

This fall he enrolled as a Junior at Southampton College in the Graphic Design Program and is now well on his way to fulfilling his dream. "I had to go through all the chaos of my youth before I was ready to accept that I didn't know everything, that I didn't have all the answers," said Burke.

"Community college students intending to transfer often get shortchanged when it comes to receiving critical financial aid," said Dr. Matthew J. Quinn, executive director of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, in announcing the Foundation's third major scholarship effort this year. "Our new Undergraduate Scholarship Program is working to correct that. We want to make sure these talented students get the same opportunity for financial aid as their college freshman counterparts."

Community college students are among the hardest-working, determined people in school - a melting pot of diverse backgrounds - immigrants and first-generation Americans striving to carve a niche alongside older adults seeking professional improvement or forced into career changes, Quinn said.

Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is receiving more than $500 million in assets from the estate of Jack Kent Cooke, who built a media empire and also owned the Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Redskins. Even though Mr. Cooke yearned to go to college, his dream was cut short when he dropped out of high school during the Great Depression to find work to help his family. He died in 1997.

In just one year, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation has become one of the nation's most prominent scholarship providers while upholding its pledge to identify idealistic, intelligent, and involved students and help them carry out their dreams to build a better world.