Two Montgomery County Public Schools seniors have been awarded one of the nation’s most prestigious college scholarships from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.
According to MCPS, Rajan Bell of Wheaton High School and Ronny Picardo of Northwest High School were named 2026 recipients of the highly competitive Cooke College Scholarship, which provides up to $55,000 per year for college along with academic advising, career support, internship opportunities, and access to a nationwide network of scholars.
Only 60 students nationwide were selected this year from a pool of applicants representing more than 4,100 high schools across the United States and its territories.
Bell plans to attend Washington University in St. Louis, where he will study English and public health. During high school, he completed internships with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and Holy Cross Hospital. He also helped lead the countywide student-led School Health Council, advocated for expanded school health services in Maryland, and participated in an MCPS pickleball ambassador trip to China focused on cultural exchange.
Picardo plans to attend University of Maryland, College Park, where he will major in aerospace engineering through the Honors College. While still in high school, he earned an associate’s degree in engineering from Montgomery College and received the college’s Prometheus Award for Strength of Character in Engineering. He also won first place in the undergraduate division of a regional engineering paper competition for his research on jet aircraft performance modeling.
MCPS also had several students recognized as Cooke College Scholarship semifinalists, including students from Gaithersburg, Watkins Mill, Wheaton, Montgomery Blair, and Albert Einstein high schools.
The scholarship, awarded by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, is designed to help exceptional students graduate with minimal debt while supporting their long-term academic and professional success.
