Freeholders Honor Accomplished Students Who Overcame Adversity

The Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders recently honored three recipients of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation scholarships as well as the valedictorian of Essex County College’s Class of 2013.

Nayasha DeFreitas, the valedictorian, was recognized alongside Kamika Bennett, Karolina Caravelli-Campos and Diego Cruz-Burbano, the winners of the scholarships, awarded in memory of Cooke, a self-made billionaire who wished to support students from low-income backgrounds who excel academically.

“[I]t is an honor for me to recognize four outstanding 2013 graduates, and scholars, from Essex County College”, said Freeholder Rolando Bobadilla. “There is nothing more important to future success than an education, and that is a truth tonight’s honorees have taken to heart.  They have worked hard at their studies, even while working full or part-time jobs or raising children, and they have succeeded, reaching the top of their class.”

DeFreitas, an East Orange resident and mother of a young son, earned her associate’s degree in biology, pre-medicine, with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. An immigrant from Guyana, she hadn’t been in a classroom for eight years since her graduation from secondary school when she began her studies at Essex County College in 2009. And she did so while working a full-time job and being a full-time mom to her 8-year old son.  She will attend Rider University this fall and plans to become a cancer researcher.

Bennett, from Cranford, was a homeless woman struggling to get a green card after her visa from Jamaica had expired when she first arrived at Essex County College three years ago.  Now, at the age of 21, she has earned an associate degree in biology and will attend Hampshire College in Massachusetts, where she will major in American studies, concentrating on migration patterns and immigration policy.

Caravelli-Campos overcame serious medical problems to succeed.  She was diagnosed with a rare lung disease, lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), and then with another rare genetic disease, tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC).  Despite these issues, she was accepted into the honors program and then went on to major in business, launch clubs for business students and animal advocacy, and to win her Jack Kent Cooke scholarship, which she will use to fund her studies at Rutgers in New Brunswick.

Cruz-Burbano immigrated with his family from Ecuador in 2010, and with the hope of following in the footsteps of family members to become a civil engineer. With his Jack Kent Cooke scholarship, he will study engineering at Georgia Tech this fall.