Student Spotlight
KCC Engineering Major Urwa Faraz Malik Named Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship Winner
Urwa Faraz Malik
Major: Engineering Science major
Kingsborough Community College student Urwa Faraz Malik has been named one of only 60 students nationwide to receive the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship.
The Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship is one of the nation’s most competitive scholarships for community college students. This year’s 60 recipients were selected from more than 1,300 applicants and 485 semifinalists. The scholarship can provide up to $55,000 per year to help students complete their bachelor’s degrees at a four-year college or university.
For Urwa, who moved from Pakistan to New York in July 2024, the recognition marks a major step toward her goal of becoming a mechanical engineer.
She’ll be the first to tell you it hasn’t always been easy. When she arrived in the United States, she knew little about the American academic system. During her first semester at Kingsborough, she worked full time during the day and attended classes in the evening. At one point, she considered leaving school.
Instead, with encouragement from classmates, faculty and staff, Urwa stayed. She went on to earn a 4.0 GPA, become a student ambassador, join Phi Theta Kappa, lead a campus Wi-Fi improvement project, take part in faculty-mentored research and serve as a CUNY Spring Forward robotics teaching intern.
“What KCC gave me was not just education; it was research and leadership experiences, meeting with friends and mentors, and gaining a sense of belonging in the new country,” Urwa shared.
She also credits Kingsborough with helping her reconnect with a childhood dream. Growing up near an airport in Pakistan, Urwa would wonder how such heavy aircraft could stay in the air, a question that sparked her interest in engineering and, eventually, a dream of working with NASA. This summer, she will take part in a Research Experience for Undergraduates program at Cornell University, a rare opportunity for a community college student, where she will conduct research on hydrothermal environments and their implications for extraterrestrial life. “As I move forward to become a mechanical engineer, I still dream of space exploration,” Urwa said. “Now that dream is a step closer."
Congratulations to Urwa on this incredible achievement.