Andrew McAllister of Franklin, who was a Southwestern Community College dual enrolled and home-schooled student, won a Jack Kent Cooke undergraduate transfer scholarship.
The announcement came today (June 21) from Matthew Quinn, executive director of the Lansdowne, Va.-based foundation. McAllister was one of 51 scholars across the country to be selected and has been invited to attend the awards ceremony for the recipients on Aug. 2 in Washington, D.C.

The scholarship is awarded to students with exceptional promise and who have a grade point average of 3.5 or better. It’s worth up to $30,000 a year for up to three years.

McAllister, whose GPA is 3.77, graduated in May from SCC with an associate of arts degree in college transfer.

The national foundation awards some of the largest and most competitive scholarships in the country, said Suzy Gregory, SCC financial aid officer.

During his two years at SCC, McAllister received the Academic Excellence Award and last year he was the recipient of President Bush’s Presidential Service Award.

McAllister has been accepted at UNC- Chapel Hill for the fall term where he will study pre med. He plans to attend medical school after college and become a doctor.

"A doctor’s main goal should be to help others and increase their quality of life. That is my passion,” said McAllister. “I am overwhelmed when I see how much is needed in the world.” McAllister has cared for children in a women’s shelter, served meals to the homeless, sung gospel songs to prison inmates and helped build houses with Habitat for Humanity.

Currently McAllister is in Africa where he will spend the summer working with the Interactive Voluntary Development Network in the village of Migori. “Our purpose is to bring love and hope, with special focus toward the children suffering with HIV and AIDS,” said McAllister.
"Last summer at a church youth group conference I walked away with one statement seared into my memory- ‘Don’t you dare tell someone you care about them when they are starving.’ I realized the challenge to our belief of how much each one of us could impact the world. I knew I cared. But did I care enough to do something about it? That’s the reason I helped organize this trip to Africa,” he said.

According to reports from his mother Susan McAllister of Franklin, Andrew’s trip is “already a wonderful, and probably life-changing, experience.

"Andrew is in a remote area and has seen great poverty, ignorance, and sickness. He is working a lot in and through the local hospital-assisting with procedures, helping with dental clinics, and working with AIDS patients through the mobile clinic,” she said. “His team of workers painted the children’s ward at the hospital, which they said thrilled the children. It went from beige and gray to bright blue and green with ‘scenes’ such as trees, mountains, and sunshine! The needs of the African children are overwhelming, but Andrew and the others are trying to share hope and encouragement where they can.”

"This foundation, named for philanthropist Jack Kent Cooke, looks for young people of exceptional promise, application, leadership and character who have financial need and demonstrated excellence in academic endeavors and extracurricular activities.We felt Andrew was the perfect applicant,” said Gregory, who made the nomination.

When he died in 1997, Cooke, whose holdings included television stations and newspapers, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Washington Redskins and the Chrysler Building in New York City, leftmost of his fortune to establish the foundation. The Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship Program was designed to help exceptional community college students with financial need make the transition to four-year colleges and universities.

"Our 2007 undergraduate transfer scholars share the ability and willingness to prevail over many limitations… we’re pleased to help them realize the next step in their educational development,” said Quinn.

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posted 6/22/07