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Rosalie Tucker’s dance card full thanks to scholarship

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Tucker smiles as she shakes hands with the award presenter

Tucker with presenter Algie Gatewood

Rosalie Tucker dreams about doing many things. Now, she doesn’t have to dream.

Tucker, 25, was selected as one of 38 students from colleges across the nation to receive a Jack Kent Cooke Foundation scholarship that will enable her to attend UCLA. The amount and duration of the scholarships varies by student based on the cost of attendance or grants received, but the awards can total up to $30,000 per year for each student. The same day, the PCC sociology major learned she had been admitted to UCLA’s World Arts and Cultures program where she’ll ply her dance skills.

"It was amazing. A total surprise," Tucker said following the scholarship announcement. "I’m so honored. It’s been quite a day."

The Undergraduate Transfer Jack Kent Scholars are currently attending or have recently completed course work at two-year institutions. The awards will provide scholarships for these 38 students to transfer to four-year colleges and universities and complete their bachelor’s degrees. The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is a private and independent foundation that was established in 2000 by the estate of Jack Kent Cooke to help young people fulfill their educational dreams.

The Undergraduate Transfer scholarship recipients come from 17 states and eight foreign nations, including Belarus, Vietnam, Ecuador, Jamaica, Palestine, Bhutan, Romania and China. They were selected from among 676 nominees from approximately 438 community or two-year colleges nationwide.

The scholars were selected by the Foundation with assistance from a national panel of experts. Selection criteria include academic excellence, financial need, will to succeed, leadership ability, service to others, and interest in or appreciation for the arts.

"The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation was founded to support high achieving students with financial need," said Matthew J. Quinn, the Foundation’s executive director. "We hope these scholarships will allow the students the opportunity to fulfill their educational goals and become the individuals they aspire to be."

Tucker, a Eugene native who resides in north Portland, may be young but she’s already experienced at connecting with others through dance, passion and hard work. In her life, she has experienced multiculturalism, the daughter of a white mother and an African-American father who moved to the West Coast and started a new life in a Buddhist community.

Early on, she knew she wanted to "seek out situations where cultures come together" and she put that into practice when she was 18 by joining Seattle’s Diversity Dance Workshop. Four months in Thailand, Laos and Malaysia exploring both traditional and modern music and art helped her realize where she should be with her own dance and performance studies.

Two years later, she joined the arts community in Portland and paired her choreography with live music "ranging from big band to Klezmer, from samba to hip-hop, and from old-time jazz to spoken word." She created the Travesty Revue, a burlesque dance troupe, giving her "a voice that allowed me to comment on cultural perceptions and restrictions without being too serious or pedantic. By becoming clowns, we inhabited characters that made people laugh while asking them to think," she said.

At UCLA, she wants to learn more about cultural roots of performance, and then eventually "move into a professional career as a choreographer, dance instructor, sociologist and educator."

And, Tucker credits PCC for helping her reach this dream.

"PCC has been an amazing school," Tucker said. "When I came here two years ago I received a ton of support. I didn’t expect it. To experience the Cascade Campus and watch it grow and see how the neighborhood has grown, it’s been exciting."

About James Hill

James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »