Student receives graduate scholarship of $50,000 annually

Stacey Jones, a 2006 IU graduate, has big dreams. With the support of others who have seen the positive impact she made at IU, she is working toward making those big dreams become a reality.\nJones is one of 76 recipients of the graduate scholarships offered by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. Jones, now a graduate student studying social service administration at the University of Chicago, is the first IU student to receive the scholarship. The award will cover her tuition, room, board, fees and books -- up to $50,000 annually -- for as many as six years. \nThe Lansdowne, Va.-based scholarship foundation is a private, independent foundation that gives scholarships and grants to both undergraduate and graduate students.\n"Our mission is to help exceptionally accomplished young students with financial need achieve their goals through higher education," Sarah Levin, program manager for the foundation said.\nWith the scholarship awarding the recipient up to $300,000 total over the six-year period, it is considered to be one of the scholarships with the most monetary value available to graduate students.\nJones found the scholarship during an online hunt for financial aid to help pay for graduate school.\n"I was becoming very discouraged because I wasn't finding much available," Jones said. "I found out that your school had to nominate you for the (Jack Kent Cooke Foundation) scholarship, so I contacted the (Hutton) Honors College."\nAfter a long and detailed application process, Jones was selected to be one of the two students IU was allowed to nominate to the foundation.\n"I had to answer essay questions based on situations I've encountered (and) adversity. I also had to provide very personal financial information," Jones said.\nKaren Hanson, dean of the Hutton Honors College, chaired the committee in charge of selecting two nominees from IU.\nHanson said the internal pool of applicants was very competitive, but the committee chose Jones because she was well-rounded.\n"She made a very positive impact in every sphere that she worked in, whether it was in her (psychology) labs or in the community," Hanson said.\nJones hopes to become the director of a social service agency, and the social service administration program at UChicago is a two-year program that focuses on direct practice in social services, Jones said.\n"I want to be able to run an agency and eventually become involved in advocacy and political programs that address the social service areas that I feel strongly about," Jones said.\n"My big dream is to open my own agency," Jones added. "I want to open a community development center for at-risk youth. I want to give them a place where they can enhance what it is that they love to do -- arts, music or athletics," Jones said.\nNo one involved in the process doubts Jones' ability to accomplish these goals. \n"(Scholarship recipients) are expected to achieve great things," Levin said. "They're already accomplished people; we just expect them to make the most of their scholarship, and in the long term, we hope they will take their studies and fulfill their dreams, make a name for themselves."\nUndergraduate students looking to receive similar scholarships should start planning early in their college careers, Hanson said.\nHowever, she cautions students from becoming involved in activities for the sole purpose of boosting their resumes and graduate school applications. \n"The best students don't think of developing a resume but developing themselves as people. A good resume will follow," Hanson said. "That's what set Stacey apart. Everything (she) went into, you could see the difference that her efforts made."\nHanson said she is sure both IU and the foundation made a good choice in choosing Jones for the prestigious scholarship.\n"The foundation has invested wisely in Stacey," Hanson said. "She is somebody who has thought long and hard about what she wants to give back to society. She is truly dedicated to making the world a better place"