Two East Aurora School District 131 middle-schoolers were recently selected for a national pre-college scholarship that provides them with academic and college advising and financial support.
Yahir Ferreira, a student at Fred Rogers Magnet Academy, and Taleen Kandakji, a student at Cowherd Middle School, were named Jack Kent Cooke Young Scholars among applicants from across the country.
The scholarship is a selective, five-year pre-college program for “exceptionally promising” seventh-graders with financial need, according to the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s website. The organization also awards scholarships to high school and community college students.
As part of the program, students receive academic and college advising, along with financial support for academic and extracurricular opportunities, per the foundation’s website. Selected students may receive things like guidance in selecting and support in applying to high schools, the ability to participate in summer programs, resources for career exploration and mentoring and college counseling.
Students awarded the scholarship work with a designated educational advisor and receive an individualized learning plan. Part of the goal is to prepare them to be competitive applicants for the country’s top colleges and universities.
Ferreira is a high honor roll student and a member of the National Junior Honor Society, math team and band, said Jon Zaghloul, communications manager for the city of Aurora, during the City Council’s Committee of the Whole meeting on Nov. 18, at which the two students were recognized.
And Kandakji, who plays volleyball and is a member of the National Junior Honor Society, started school at Cowherd in seventh grade speaking Arabic, teaching herself English and Spanish in the meanwhile, Zaghloul said.
“This is really incredible for both of you,” Aurora Mayor John Laesch said at the meeting. “With less than 100 people being recognized around the entire United States, to have two from East Aurora is just really amazing.”
The number of students selected as Cooke Young Scholars varies from year to year, according to its website. In 2024, 55 students were awarded the scholarship.
The scholarship, awarded annually, extends through a student’s senior year of high school. Next year’s application opens in February, per the foundation’s website.
At the Nov. 18 meeting, Ferreira said he was “super, super grateful” for receiving the scholarship.
“When I was first applying, my counselor told me, ‘Oh, you should totally apply,’” Ferreira recalled. “And I was like, ‘OK.’ But I didn’t really feel like I would win the scholarship. I didn’t think, you know, I was smart enough for something like this.”
But he’s enthusiastic about what the future holds.
“I was so … excited for all these new doors that would open for me,” Ferreira said.
Kandakji, too, said she was “so proud to be here.”
One of Kandakji’s teachers, Mikayla Williams, also spoke at the meeting about her student’s achievements.
“Classes were hard because of the English, so she learned English,” Williams said. “And it was hard to make friends because they spoke Spanish, and so she learned Spanish.”
And she spoke to Kandakji’s adjustment to a new place and the challenges it brings.
“Middle school is hard for anybody, but when you add the new factors of a new country, a new culture and a new language … life is hard,” Williams said. “And I’ve just gotten to see her take one challenge at a time and just conquer them.”
In a statement provided to The Beacon-News, East Aurora School District Superintendent Bob Halverson pointed to Ferreira’s “commitment to taking on (the district’s) highest level coursework,” and Kandakji’s “determination in mastering two additional new languages while maintaining top academic performance.”
“East Aurora students continue to show extraordinary promise,” Halverson said, “and Yahir and Taleen are perfect examples.”
mmorrow@chicagotribune.com