I’m very passionate about it, and I have talked with my professors at Williams and plan to continue the next phase of my research there.” “The research I’ve already been doing is on gender-based violence in Africa. “I want to be a college professor, so I have to go all the way to the Ph.D.,” she says. Ilboudo graduated with a liberal arts transfer associate degree in social sciences and will attend Williams College in Massachusetts this fall. They will additionally receive opportunities for internships, study abroad, and graduate school funding, as well as connection to more than 3,000 Cooke scholars and alumni. This past week, Ilboudo and Mone graduated from Madison College with honors, and now, as a Cooke scholars, they will receive comprehensive educational advising to guide them through the process of transitioning to their four-year colleges and preparing for their careers. I carry in my heart that hard work pays off, and even when you think nobody is watching or noticing, someone just might be.” No matter what it seems like, I can still persevere and try my best. “I’m a good worker, I get good grades, and I have stories to tell,” Mone says. And now, that work is reflected in the Cooke scholarship. In high school, she worked to improve her academics so she could earn the Leading Change scholarship, which brought her to Madison College. While Mone is thrilled to receive the scholarship, she’s most proud of the hard work it took to put herself in a position to be successful. When I got the news, I was like, hey, it worked!”

I told myself to just do it, apply, and see what happens. “I didn’t want to attach my value or worth to whether I received it, because it was a really competitive process, and I also believed I had done everything I could to get here,” Ilboudo says. They are also roommates and good friends, and together, they shared in the surprise and excitement of receiving the highly competitive and prestigious scholarship.

Both are international students and part of Leading Change – Africa, a program founded by Madison College alumnus Ousmane Kabré, which supports and provides educational opportunities to African students interested in pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and business. The award, which is last dollar funding after all institutional aid, can be as much as $55,000 a year for three years of education.Īs Madison College honors program students, Ilboudo and Mone have exemplified leadership and a deep commitment to learning. The highly competitive national program assists scholars in completing their undergraduate educations with as little debt as possible. Madison College students Honorine Wendyam Ilboudo (right) and Todala Hayfa Kendrixe Mone were selected from more than 1,700 students from 448 community colleges nationwide to receive the Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship.

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