Kaitlyn Emma Pickering One of 38 Recipients in National Competition

Kaitlyn Emma Pickering
One of 38 Recipients in National Competition

BOSTON - In a first for Fisher College, sophomore Kaitlyn Emma Pickering was chosen from among an international pool of candidates to receive the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship.

Scholarship recipients - high achieving students with financial need from two-year degree programs - were announced today by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation (opens in new window), which awards up to $30,000 per year for students to transfer to four-year colleges and universities and complete their bachelor's degrees.

"The Fisher College community celebrates Emma's accomplishment. She is very deserving and, like so many of her peers, has overcome tremendous obstacles," said President Charles Perkins. "I know she will turn those experiences into success. Indeed, she already has. We expect great things of her."

While a student at Fisher College, Emma earned exceptional grades as an Honors student; started The Common Good, a forum for debating current political issues; tutored her peers as a member of the Academic Center for Enrichment; volunteered for City Councilor Joe Ready's campaign; and still found time to pursue her love of painting. Emma was selected from among 676 nominees from 438 colleges, which brings to 199 the number of students who have been named Jack Kent Cooke Scholars since the program's inception in 2002.

In her application, Emma wrote, "I learned that finding beauty and meaning in one's life is not a passive process but rather something that is sought with strong will and determination. Having learned this most valuable lesson, I resolved to never again allow the monotony of routine rob my heart of its deepest experiences."

Dr. Dean Walton, who taught an honors English class that greatly influenced Emma and wrote a recommendation as part of her application, said, "Emma is one of the best students I have had in 32 years of teaching. We are all ennobled when young women like Emma are helped to flourish. Emma will repay the world many times over by using her fine intellect, knowledge, and caring heart to bring happiness to people."

Emma plans to attend the University of Texas at Austin and study Political Science and Government. She intends to enter public service as a teacher and lead the next generation in solving issues of good governance, youth violence, and affordable housing.

Founded in 1903, Fisher College is a private two-year college offering a baccalaureate degree in Business Management.