Four MDC Students Win Renowned Jack Kent Cooke Transfer Scholarship

Four Miami Dade College Honors College graduates—Carlen Arevalo, Javier Gil, Nathalie Saladrigas and Kayla Ribeiro—were awarded the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Transfer Scholarship.

Three of this year’s winners are from Eduardo J. Padrón Campus. In the past three years, the campus has produced eight JKC scholars.

The scholarship recipients will each receive up to $55,000 annually for living expenses, tuition, books and other fees at a transfer institution. 

Sixty winners were selected from a pool of more than 1,700 candidates from 448 community colleges nationwide.

Applicants had to be sophomores or recent graduates of a two-year institution in the United States with a plan to enroll full-time in a baccalaureate program in the fall. They also needed to have a minimum 3.5 GPA, demonstrate unmet financial need and have no previous enrollment at a four-year institution. 

Carlen Arevalo

After immigrating to the United States when she was 12 years old to escape gang violence in El Salvador, Arevalo struggled with cyberbullying as she struggled to learn English. 

Refusing to be discouraged, Arevalo discovered how to express her creativity in middle school using photography, post design and algorithms. At MDC, she merged her passion for social media by studying business marketing. 

At Padrón Campus, she served as the vice president of scholarship and leadership for Phi Theta Kappa, was a co-organizer for the Jovenes Contra el Cáncer (youth against cancer) Foundation and was president of the Meraki Youth community service club. 

The 20-year-old, who was selected as a New Century Transfer Pathway Scholar and the All-USA Academic Team, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a 3.8 GPA in April. 

Arevalo will transfer to Emerson College or Northeastern University in Boston this fall to pursue a bachelor’s degree in digital marketing. She also plans to obtain a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Pennsylvania. 

“I’m so ready for this next step in my life and in my story,” said Arevalo, who aspires to be a global marketing strategist. “I want to mentor other students. I want to connect with them professionally, personally or academically.”

Javier Gil

Following his father’s exile from Venezuela in 2018, Gil’s family, which included his mother and sister, received death threats. That year, they sought political asylum in the U.S. 

Despite facing language barriers, Gil was determined to utilize his aptitude for science and math to serve his community. He was inspired by Maria Caetano—a physics professor in Venezuela, who was a chemical engineer for the country’s oil and natural gas company. 

“All these obstacles forged a path of growth,” Gil said. “I grew, I learned a lot of new things, got to meet a lot of people and all of those connections, experiences, and challenges made me who I am right now.”

At MDC, Gil studied the mitigation of marine toxins through the South Florida Research Consortium’s Undergraduate Research Program at Florida International University. He also raised more than $3,000 for the food pantry at Padrón Campus. 

The 20-year-old also served as the student government association vice president, was a member of Beta Beta Beta and Phi Theta Kappa and a calculus and organic chemistry tutor before earning an associate’s degree in chemical engineering with a 4.0 GPA. 

Gil plans to transfer to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology this fall to pursue a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. He aspires to become a chemical engineer.  

Nathalie Saladrigas

When she was six years old, Saladrigas saw her mother get deported from the U.S. 

Left with no options, Saladrigas returned to Colombia to live with her mother. However, after struggling with anxiety and intense nosebleeds, she returned to the U.S. three years later to live with her dad—who struggled to find a stable job and a place to live. 

Following her father’s death in 2020, Saladrigas realized she could use her experience to champion inclusion and activism for disenfranchised communities. 

“I thought it was really important to show people how impactful they can be,” said Saladrigas, who also worked jobs at Smoothie King and YouFit Gyms to support her family. “That’s why I continue to do what I love, which is activism—I just want to dedicate my whole life to it.”

While at Padrón Campus, Saladrigas founded the first LGBTQ+ club at her campus, served as director of civic engagement for Meraki Youth, was a volunteer for planned parenthood and an intern at the Florida Student Power Network—a non-profit organization centered on promoting social justice. 

The 20-year-old, who earned an associate’s degree in sociology with a 3.9 GPA, hopes to transfer to Northeastern University in Boston to pursue a bachelor’s degree in human services and international affairs.

Kayla Ribeiro

After moving to Miami from New Jersey two years ago, Ribeiro was often the only girl in her computer science courses at Kendall Campus. 

Inspired by a summer program she took in high school through Girls Who Code—an international non-profit supporting women in computer science—Ribeiro created a chapter of the organization to promote inclusivity. 

“All it takes is [to have] somebody there to tell you can do it,” Ribeiro said. “I want to let girls know that I was in their shoes too, and we are able to accomplish just as much as men do in the coding world.”

During her time at MDC, Ribeiro served as the president of the Honors College ambassador’s program, secretary for the Omicron Tau PTK chapter at Kendall Campus and was a mentor in the Sharks Guiding Sharks club.  

Ribeiro, who was named a Coca-Cola Academic Team Gold Scholar and a member of the All-Florida Academic Team by PTK, also conducted research in the spring semester on sagebrush ecosystems before earning an associate’s degree in computer science with a 4.0 GPA. 

The 19-year-old plans to transfer to the Georgia Institute of Technology or Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore this fall to pursue a bachelor’s degree in computer science. She aspires to be a software developer.

The photos used in this article are courtesy of Giorgio Viera of the Miami Dade College Media Relations Department. 

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