Honors College Graduate Earns Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship With Hard Work, Dedication and Belief in Self

Lone Star College CyFair News

Published on: May 20, 2016
Lone Star College-CyFair graduate and future civil lawyer Rey Laurencio always believed in himself and is now one of 75 students chosen nationwide as a recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship, which covers educational expenses up to $40,000 a year.
I was optimistic, had a positive outlook, put in the work and dedication and believed, said Laurencio, who is grateful for the scholarship, but more moved to know how proud his dad is about such awards earned through his educational achievements. Enthusiastic to succeed, despite being an immigrant, bilingual and financially disadvantaged, I refuse to quit.
Laurencio said he grew up as a native Spanish speaker, struggling to adopt the English language, when his family won a visa lottery and emigrated to the United States from Cuba in 2000. During his high school years, he was more focused on sports - swimming, water polo and track and field than academics. However, those four years did teach him discipline, responsibility and commitment.
In the summer of 2014 at LSC-CyFair, after earning all As in four accelerated classes, he found confidence and a drive to succeed. He not only became a better student academically as an Honors College student and member of Phi Theta Kappa, but he reached his goal of getting involved and becoming a leader, holding officer positions in the Business Savvy Club, Student Government Association and Phi Theta Kappa.
In addition to leadership skills, he said participation in those various organizations taught him about professionalism, civic engagement, empowerment of students voices, rigorous academic research, public speaking, critical thinking and more.
These organizations made me a better person and helped me see a world perspective because I was surrounded by non-traditional and international students, he said. They were a diverse age population, who had struggled immensely, too, which helped me appreciate my own situation.
Laurencio learned about setting goals and ...

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