News and Events
Press Releases
Seaver College Graduate Ricky P. Steelman Awarded Prestigious Graduate Scholarship
August 15, 2006 - This past spring, thousands of young men and women across the country received their baccalaureate degrees. Included in that group of graduates are several students who were named as Scholars in the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Program. Among those awarded was Pepperdine University Seaver College graduate Ricky P. Steelman ('03) from Cincinnati, OH.
“I'm very excited, honored, and thankful to receive this wonderful scholarship,” said Steelman, who graduated from Oak Hills High School in 1999. “The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation's tremendous generosity has helped renew in me the belief that hard work and determination indeed pay off.” He will use the scholarship to help shoulder the burden of law school tuition and loans. Steelman will attend Pepperdine University School of Law in the fall.
Steelman is one of 77 recipients who were chosen after a nationwide selection process that drew 1,100 nominees. The graduate scholarships cover tuition, room, board, fees and books; up to $50,000 annually for up to six years. The scholarships are among the most generous academic awards offered in the United States.
"Our objective is to help high achieving students who have financial need, whether they are attending a middle school in rural Kansas or Harvard Medical School," said Dr. Matthew J. Quinn, executive director of the Foundation. "The graduate scholarship recipients know hard work and sacrifice. These scholarships recognize their devotion to education, reward their efforts, and provide an incentive to continue excelling . . . and, we hope, to benefit society."
Quinn explained that this is the fifth year the graduate scholarship program has existed. The new scholars bring the total of recipients in the program to 286. He added that "word about the program is getting around" in the academic world, and some are calling it the most sought after graduate scholarship among college graduates.
The exact amount and duration of the scholarships vary by student based on the cost of attendance and length of the graduate program as well as other scholarships or grants the student has received. The recipients will pursue graduate study in wide ranging fields, including medicine, law, theology, education, painting, journalism, theater, business, architecture and other areas. The scholars include 14 in the fine and performing arts, reflecting the late Mr. Cooke's passion for the arts.
Students attending any accredited college or university in the United States were eligible to apply. Each institution could nominate up to two students. Candidates then underwent a rigorous assessment at two stages by independent panels of academic experts, including graduate school deans, admissions counselors, and faculty. The selection criteria included academic achievement and financial need as well as a will to succeed, leadership and community involvement.
Pepperdine, founded in Los Angeles in 1937, is an independent Christian university offering graduate and undergraduate degrees through its Seaver College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences and four graduate schools of business, law, public policy, and education and psychology. The University is recognized nationally for its excellent academic programs and enrolls approximately 8,000 full-time and part-time students in its five colleges and schools. Headquartered in Malibu, California, the University has academic centers throughout Southern California and operates international programs in Europe, South American and the Far East.
