Peña Selected as Jack Kent Cooke Scholar

by Ronnie Zamora/LFCISD

Liberty Memorial Middle School eighth-grade student Sydney Jo Peña has been selected as a Jack Kent Cooke Young Scholar.

To be selected for this prestigious scholarship is a profound achievement. More than 2,300 extremely talented students from across the country applied this year. She is one of only 60 students selected.

Peña, a member of the Los Fresnos High School Class of 2024, has received numerous honors while at Liberty Memorial and Los Fresnos Elementary School.

She has won the last two Los Fresnos CISD Spelling Bees in 2017 and 2018 and tied for third place at the Rio Grande Valley Regional Spelling Bee in 2018. She took part in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in last year, finishing in a tie for 51st place.

Peña is the top-ranked academic student at Liberty Memorial in sixth and seventh grades. She has been recognized for SAT scores in Evidence-Based Reading and Math, also in both sixth and seventh grades.

Peña, who hopes to go to medical school and become a surgeon, has placed in spelling, science and dictionary skills at the District UIL Meet in both sixth and seventh grades.

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation presents awards its Young Scholars Program, College Scholarships Program and Undergraduate Transfer Program.

The Cooke Young Scholars Program is a selective five-year, pre-college scholarship for high-performing seventh grade students with financial need. It provides comprehensive academic and college advising, as well as financial support for school, Cooke-sponsored summer programs, internships, and other learning enrichment opportunities.