Going Far: Alumna Juliana Rodriguez Bohorquez on to medical school

Monday, June 17, 2019
Written by: Lauren Leetun for Seminole State

Juliana Rodriguez Bohorquez was encouraged to apply for a prestigious Jack Kent Cooke transfer scholarship by her Seminole State College of Florida humanities professor Marisabel Irizarry. A 2015 recipient of the transfer scholarship, Rodriguez Bohorquez took advantage of Seminole State’s DirectConnect™ to UCF program, and she graduated from the University of Central Florida in the spring of 2017 with a bachelor's degree in Biomedical Science. 

(L-R) Melissa Cunningham, Juliana Rodriguez Bohorquez, Sebastian Roubert and Shannon Conner won the Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship in 2015.

Just a few months later, Rodriguez Bohorquez landed at Howard University in Washington D.C., where she is a second-year medical student. Rodriguez Bohorquez believes that the Jack Kent Cooke scholarship opened numerous opportunities for her, including a recent medical mission trip to Peru with some Howard University classmates, where they provided basic physical examinations and medical assistance to the people of Pachacutec, a small district in the outskirts of the city of Ica. 

She’s grateful for the peace of mind that the scholarship provided, granting her the ability to focus on her schoolwork. With the scholarship, she didn’t have to constantly worry about how to pay for her tuition and other needs and didn’t have to spend time applying for smaller scholarships to offset those costs. Through the doors that the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation opened, Rodriguez Bohorquez was also able to participate in a research lab at UCF. 

When asked what advice she would give to students considering applying for a Jack Kent Cooke scholarship, she suggested “putting all you have toward this application, getting help from as many people as possible, and pushing as hard as you can.” She added, “In the end you may be surprised with the results. In addition, if you still have time before your application cycle begins, get proactive! Go volunteer with a group, join a club, work in an e-board position, do something so that your actions speak for themselves and shine through your application.” 

Social Media Handles: 

Facebook: JROD77

Instagram: @Julianar411


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