Five Honors College Graduates Awarded Prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship
Five Miami Dade College graduates—Ana Cristina Camba, Stefani Davila, Paola Troconis Infante, Daphnie Velasquez Garcia and Alexa Bencomo—were awarded the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship.
The recipients will receive up to $55,000 annually to cover living expenses, tuition, books and additional fees as they transfer to a four-year institution.
To qualify, applicants had to be sophomores or recent graduates of a two-year institution in the United States with no previous enrollment at a four-year institution. They also needed a GPA of at least 3.5, demonstrate unmet financial needs and plan to enroll full-time in a baccalaureate program during the fall.
From a pool of more than 1,200 applicants, including 332 community colleges, one hundred winners were selected.
Ana Cristina Camba
After witnessing deaf customers struggle to order food at the Domino’s Pizza restaurant she works at, Ana Cristina Camba was encouraged to try to develop assistive technology.
“There’s not a direct bridge for people with hearing impairments in our world,” the 19-year-old said. “I want to establish a software that can bridge that disability with a hearing world.”
Camba, who wants to become a computer engineer, also performed mathematics and programming research as an intern at the School of Science at MDC. In 2021, she co-founded the Interactive Bilingual Reading Program in Nicaragua in partnership with FNE International to help children learn English.
She graduated in May with a 4.0 GPA and an associate’s degree in computer engineering from Eduardo J. Padrón Campus. She served as the vice president of Sigma Zeta Honors Society, layout editor at Urbana (the campus’ literary arts magazine) and a member of Phi Theta Kappa.
Camba hopes to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology or Stanford in the fall.
Stefani Davila
During 4th and 5th grade, Stefani Davila sold candy with her friends to raise funds for the Jovenes Contra el Cáncer (youth against cancer) foundation in Ecuador.
“The foundation is my second home,” Davila said. “I have constantly learned new ways to feel, experience, value and live my life through the stories of patients and service to those who need it most.”
Jóvenes Contra el Cáncer, established by her brother, Alex Davila, before he passed away in 2006 from Osteosarcoma, focuses on raising cancer awareness and helping patients cope with their diagnosis and recovery.
In 2019, Davila founded the Meraki Youth Organization to promote community service, education and climate change awareness. She also volunteered as a photographer for immigrant advocacy organizations such as United We Dream and Florida Immigrant Coalition.
Davila graduated with a 3.85 GPA and an associate’s degree in business administration from the Padrón Campus. She served as the co-editor-in-chief of Urbana and the president of Hermione’s Army.
The 18-year-old is considering attending Emerson College and UNC.
Paola Troconis Infante
Following her father’s election as a magistrate in 2017, Paola Troconis Infante fled political persecution in Venezuela and came to the United States.
Inspired by her uncle’s career as a surgeon, Troconis hopes to pursue her childhood dream of becoming a prosthetic surgeon.
“Winning the scholarship has been a unique experience,” Troconis said. “It was not only a surprise for me but a motivation that everything I propose with effort I will be able to achieve it.”
In 2016, Troconis and her mother, Isabel Infante, co-founded the Casa Hogar Project—a nonprofit dedicated to providing low-income children with food, clothing and other necessities—in Venezuela. She wants to implement the same efforts in the U.S.
Troconis, 20, graduated with a 3.94 GPA and an associate’s degree in biomedical engineering from Kendall Campus in May. She served as the secretary of She The People, a club geared toward women empowerment, the treasurer of the Nurse Club and a Student Government Association senator.
She said she will likely enroll at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Daphnie Velasquez Garcia
Daphnie Velasquez Garcia has dreamt about becoming a physician since she was four when her grandmother, Maybell Curtís, passed away from Leukemia. Her commitment to medicine grew last year when her mother was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer.
“I want to definitely go into oncology research, but at the same time treat the patients because I know that that relationship between the physician and the patient helps a lot,” Velazquez said.
Velazquez, 20, interned at the University of Florida last summer to complete research on how pesticide was affecting avocado plants. She won the Microbiology and Cell Sciences Research Poster Award at the Cell Science Summer Research Experience Symposium.
Velasquez graduated from the Padrón Campus with a 3.84 GPA and an associate’s degree in biology following the pre-med track. She was the Beta Beta Beta Honors society president, SGA senator, PTK member and a webmaster for Urbana.
She will enroll at UNC this fall with a full-ride scholarship.
Alexa Bencomo
During her trips to Cuba, Alexa Bencomo became aware of the health crisis taking place in her parent’s homeland. Since then, she has focused her career on global health.
“I wanted to alleviate the health crisis that I saw in Cuba and many developing countries,” Bencomo said. “I would like to work with the Red Cross and visit countries where aid is needed.”
At North Campus, Bencomo served as secretary for SGA and PTK, vice president of the campus’ Global Medical Brigades chapter and founded the Aquaponics Club to promote environmental sustainability.
Last summer, the 20-year-old interned at St. Thomas University to research the effects of medicinal plants on the migration of breast cancer cells. She also became a certified clinical medical assistant.
Bencomo, who aspires to become a dermatologist and conduct cancer research, graduated with a 4.0 GPA and an associate’s degree in biology from North Campus in May.
She is considering attending Johns Hopkins University or Princeton University.
The photo of Paola Troconis Infante used in this story is courtesy of Cynthia Okoe.
