Cerritos College student named top scholar

NORWALK - Cerritos College honors student Vannaren Long has been named one of the nation's top scholars by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship Program.Long, of Long Beach, was among 74 students chosen from nearly 800 applicants from two-year colleges nationwide. The scholarship is one of the most competitive undergraduate transfer scholarships in the nation and will provide Long with up to $30,000 per year to complete a bachelor's degree. Long has also been named to the All-California Community College Academic First Team, an acknowledgement of academic distinction by Phi Theta Kappa, the premier two-year college honor society. Having grown up in a remote village in Cambodia with daily challenges of living without electricity, he hopes to become a nuclear researcher and make electrical energy more plentiful and accessible to everyone in society. He is transferring to UC Berkeley this fall where he will study nuclear engineering to make his dreams come true. "With encouragement, counsel and support from Professor Juntilla, I applied for the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship and surprisingly was selected," said Long. "I would like to thank Professor Juntilla and Professor Jim Henriques, my physics professor and my mentor. This honor belongs to all of us."

********** Published: May 30, 2013 - Volume 12 - Issue 07