Jax Hgts student a fi nalist for major scholarship
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
A student at Flushing’s
Townsend Harris High School
student was recognized for
her outstanding academic
excellence and contribution
to the community after being
announced as a semifinalist for a
prestigious college scholarship.
Nefertari Elshiekh from
Jackson Heights was chosen
as one of 565 outstanding high
school seniors selected on Jan.
29 as semifinalists for the Cooke
College Scholarship Program,
which provides recipients with
up to $40,000 annually for four
years to enable them to attend
some of the top colleges and
universities in the United States.
Elshiekh, 18, a senior at
Townsend Harris High School
at Queens College in Flushing,
was also named as a regional
finalist for the Coca-Cola
Foundation Scholarship.
“It feels like all of my hard
work has paid off, and it’s a
wonderful opportunity that am
hoping I can be a part of these
communities, because it’s a lot
more than just winning the
actual monetary money that they
will be giving me,” said Elshiekh.
“It recognizes all of the hard
work that I’ve put in throughout
high school, it also really gives
me hope that I will have people to
turn to in the future.”
Students applied from all
50 states, as well as the District
of Columbia, Puerto Rico,
Guam, Northern Mariana
Islands, Armed Forces Pacific,
and American Samoa —
representing 3,782 schools.
Elshiekh, editor of the
school newspaper “The
Classic,” was selected based on
exceptional academic ability
and achievement, financial
need, persistence, and service to
others and leadership.
Once a week, she volunteers
her time at Dancing Dreams,
a nonprofit organization in
Bayside that provides adaptive
dance classes to children with
physical disabilities, and works
at the Sea, Air, and Space
Museum in Manhattan as a
junior educator, helping visitors
interact with the exhibits at the
museum.
“I’m a dancer myself and
I’ve been dancing since I was
three, so I’ve combined both
Nefertari Elshiekh, 18, was named a semi-finalist for the Jack Kent
Cooke Foundation Scholarship, and a regional finalist for the Coca-
Cola Foundation Scholarship. Courtesy of Nefertari Elshiekh
of those passions of mine
working with children and
dancing,” said Elshiekh. “I’m
very passionate about working
with children, and I want to be
a special education teacher in
the future. … I want to be able
to take what I’ve learned from
working with Dancing Dreams
and create an education that is
tailored to children with special
needs because they have that
opportunity to succeed.”
After taking an oath in her
freshman year at Townsend
Harris to leave their city greater
than they found it, Elshiekh
decided to volunteer at the late
state Sen. Jose Peralta’s office in
Jackson Heights, participating
in community parades,
donations, and special events.
The 2019 Cooke College
Scholarship recipients will
be announced in April. The
semifinalists were chosen from
6,174 applicants. Last year, 106
semifinalists were selected to
receive the scholarship.
“The students in this
semifinalist cohort are some
of the most high-achieving
and driven in the country,”
said Seppy Basili, executive
director of the Jack Kent
Cooke Foundation. “They have
achieved success well beyond
that of many of their more
advantaged peers, and we know
they will accomplish far more
in college and beyond.”
Elshiekh has worked
throughout high school to
help support her family, and,
if she wins the scholarships,
it will allow her to continue
her academic journey without
financial burden, she says.
“I’ve worked hard to get
to this point and it’s out of my
hands,” said Elshiekh. “But
regardless of what happens, I
am proud to have just made it
this far.”
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TIMESLEDGER,14 FEB. 15-21, 2019 TIMESLEDGER.COM
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