Northeast State celebrates two recent graduates as recipients of the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship for 2025.
Kate Casell and Shanna Holt were two of 90 new Cooke Scholars selected from a semifinalist pool of 467 students. Casell and Holt, along with fellow Northeast State students Matthew Hughes and Charles Root, were among those semifinalists chosen from a pool of nearly 1,600 applicants nationwide. The four students were the only semifinalists chosen in Tennessee.
Recipients were selected based on academic achievement, unmet financial need, persistence, and leadership. In her speech during the Humanities Division ceremony at spring graduation, Casell reflected on her time at Northeast State and what the College’s theme of “here to get you there” meant to her.
“I’ve come to realize that ‘there’ is when I am looking at a person and giving them something,” said Casell. “ ‘There’ is where I am better for everything here; there is when I am doing something for what I have received here.”
The 2025 cohort marks one of the largest in the foundation’s 25-year history, reinforcing its continued commitment to creating debt-free pathways to higher education for high-achieving students with financial need. Cooke Transfer Scholars are selected based on their exceptional academic ability and achievement, financial need, persistence, service to others, and leadership. Applicants must be currently enrolled community college students or recent graduates residing in the United States.
Through the Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship, the Foundation supports high-achieving community college students as they transfer to some of the top four-year institutions in the country. The award, which is last-dollar funding after all institutional aid, can provide as much as $55,000 per year for two to three years to complete a bachelor’s degree.
The Cooke Foundation announced the recipients of the Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship in May. A native of Asheville, N.C., and a Johnson City resident, Casell graduated with associate degrees in Psychology, Economics, Philosophy, International Affairs, and Digital Media. A resident of Gray, Holt is majoring in Psychology, Sociology, and Social Work.
“Our Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship represents a lifeline for exceptional community college students to actualize their academic dreams,” said Seppy Basili, Executive Director of the Cooke Foundation. “This year’s semifinalists exemplify the extraordinary talent found within community colleges across America, and we’re excited to congratulate this group as we celebrate a quarter century of work as a Foundation.”
Casell and Holt join fellow Northeast State alumni Leo Phillips, Zachary Andina, Bryan Kirk, Beth Ross, and Merissa Williams as the all-time Northeast State student winners of the Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. Both students aspire to serve others in their community.
Holt and Casell’s academic work earned them spots in the College’s Alpha Iota Chi chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society. They were recognized as Honors Program graduates. Both received recognition as members of the President’s All-Academic Team of 2025 for students earning a 4.0 grade point average every semester since enrolling at Northeast State.
Holt received the Outstanding Student Award for 2025 at Northeast State. She is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society for community college students. She is also a member of the Phi Theta Kappa All-Tennessee Academic Team, the All-USA Academic Team, and a Coca-Cola New Century Transfer Scholar. Casell earned program awards as the outstanding student in Digital Media and the Honors Program.
The scholarship seeks to cover a significant share of the student’s educational expenses, including tuition, living expenses, books, and required fees, for the final two to three years necessary to achieve a bachelor’s degree.
“Northeast State puts the ‘community’ in community college,” said Holt. “ I couldn’t have been happier to be a part of it.”
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Northeast State celebrates two recent graduates as recipients of the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship for 2025.
Kate Casell and Shanna Holt were two of 90 new Cooke Scholars selected from a semifinalist pool of 467 students. Casell and Holt, along with fellow Northeast State students Matthew Hughes and Charles Root, were among those semifinalists chosen from a pool of nearly 1,600 applicants nationwide. The four students were the only semifinalists chosen in Tennessee.
Recipients were selected based on academic achievement, unmet financial need, persistence, and leadership. In her speech during the Humanities Division ceremony at spring graduation, Casell reflected on her time at Northeast State and what the College’s theme of “here to get you there” meant to her.
“I’ve come to realize that ‘there’ is when I am looking at a person and giving them something,” said Casell. “ ‘There’ is where I am better for everything here; there is when I am doing something for what I have received here.”
The 2025 cohort marks one of the largest in the foundation’s 25-year history, reinforcing its continued commitment to creating debt-free pathways to higher education for high-achieving students with financial need. Cooke Transfer Scholars are selected based on their exceptional academic ability and achievement, financial need, persistence, service to others, and leadership. Applicants must be currently enrolled community college students or recent graduates residing in the United States.
Through the Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship, the Foundation supports high-achieving community college students as they transfer to some of the top four-year institutions in the country. The award, which is last-dollar funding after all institutional aid, can provide as much as $55,000 per year for two to three years to complete a bachelor’s degree.
The Cooke Foundation announced the recipients of the Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship in May. A native of Asheville, N.C., and a Johnson City resident, Casell graduated with associate degrees in Psychology, Economics, Philosophy, International Affairs, and Digital Media. A resident of Gray, Holt is majoring in Psychology, Sociology, and Social Work.
“Our Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship represents a lifeline for exceptional community college students to actualize their academic dreams,” said Seppy Basili, Executive Director of the Cooke Foundation. “This year’s semifinalists exemplify the extraordinary talent found within community colleges across America, and we’re excited to congratulate this group as we celebrate a quarter century of work as a Foundation.”
Casell and Holt join fellow Northeast State alumni Leo Phillips, Zachary Andina, Bryan Kirk, Beth Ross, and Merissa Williams as the all-time Northeast State student winners of the Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. Both students aspire to serve others in their community.
Holt and Casell’s academic work earned them spots in the College’s Alpha Iota Chi chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society. They were recognized as Honors Program graduates. Both received recognition as members of the President’s All-Academic Team of 2025 for students earning a 4.0 grade point average every semester since enrolling at Northeast State.
Holt received the Outstanding Student Award for 2025 at Northeast State. She is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society for community college students. She is also a member of the Phi Theta Kappa All-Tennessee Academic Team, the All-USA Academic Team, and a Coca-Cola New Century Transfer Scholar. Casell earned program awards as the outstanding student in Digital Media and the Honors Program.
The scholarship seeks to cover a significant share of the student’s educational expenses, including tuition, living expenses, books, and required fees, for the final two to three years necessary to achieve a bachelor’s degree.
“Northeast State puts the ‘community’ in community college,” said Holt. “ I couldn’t have been happier to be a part of it.”
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