CCM graduate student and Jack Kent Cooke Scholar Susan Yang.
We are thrilled to report that first-year CCM graduate student Susan Yang has been awarded a Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Arts Award, based on her outstanding artistic and creative merit in addition to a record of academic achievement!
A Master of Music candidate in Piano at CCM, Yang is one of 20 student recipients of the Foundation’s 2013 Graduate Arts Award. Jack Kent Cooke Scholars receive up to $50,000 per year for up to three years in order to attend accredited graduate institutions like CCM in the United States or abroad.
Now in its third year, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Arts Award elicited 449 applications and portfolios from 43 states and the District of Columbia. The 20 winners represent just four percent of the total applicant pool. They were selected by a 38-member panel of experienced artists and arts educators in the fields of music, dance, theatre, creative writing, visual arts and film.
“By alleviating the financial burdens of graduate school, our award allows these young but deserving artists to focus on developing their talents and preparing for a career in the arts,” explains Dana O’Neill, program manager for the Graduate Arts Award. “We were so impressed with the caliber of applicants this year that we increased the number of awards from 15 to 20.”
“I would like to be remembered as someone who’s always willing to help others and give back to the community,” Yang says, “because so many people have helped me, and also because I believe building and maintaining relationships with others is one of the most valuable investments I can make in life.”
Yang graduated cum laude from Vanderbilt University, won third place in the National MTNA Chamber Music competition and was a finalist in the Vanderbilt Concerto Competition. You can learn more about Susan Yang here.
About the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is a private, independent foundation dedicated to advancing the education of exceptionally promising students who have financial need. Because the Foundation believes that high-potential, low-income students will excel educationally when given the resources to develop their talents, it supports exceptional students from elementary school to graduate school through scholarships, grants, direct service, and knowledge creation and dissemination. Founded in 2000 by the estate of Jack Kent Cooke, the Foundation has awarded $120 million for over 2,000 scholarships and $76 million in grants to organizations that support our mission. You can learn more about the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation by visiting www.jkcf.org.
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