Greenfield Community College student Mike Hannigan has been named a 2026 recipient of the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship, one of the nation\u2019s most competitive and selective awards for community college students.<\/p>\n
Selected from more than 1,300 applicants nationwide, Hannigan was among just 60 students chosen to receive the scholarship, which provides up to $55,000 per year to support completion of a bachelor\u2019s degree at an accredited four-year institution. The award also includes individualized advising, access to a national network of Cooke Scholars and alumni and opportunities for internships, study abroad and graduate study support.<\/p>\n
The scholarship recognizes exceptional academic achievement, leadership, perseverance and service. Hannigan\u2019s selection reflects a remarkable record of accomplishment during his time at GCC, where he has emerged as a campus and community leader focused on civic engagement, food justice and student advocacy.<\/p>\n
A student in GCC\u2019s Farm and Food Systems program, Hannigan serves as Student Senate President and previously served as Student Trustee. He also leads the GCC Permaculture Club and has organized gleaning projects and free farmers markets to expand access to fresh food for students and community members. Through internships and volunteer work with organizations including Stone Soup Caf\u00e9 and Rachel\u2019s Table, he has become a leading advocate for addressing food insecurity in the region.<\/p>\n
In 2025, Hannigan was named a Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact, a national honor recognizing students committed to creating positive social change through civic and community engagement. He was also recognized through GCC\u2019s Martin Luther King Jr. awards program for his commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a testament to Mike\u2019s dedication and perseverance in advancing his education, leadership and community service,\u201d said Anthony Reiber. \u201cI am very proud of Mike\u2019s accomplishments and feel honored to be a part of his educational journey.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation created the Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship to expand access to high-quality, debt-free educational pathways for high-achieving students with financial need.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese Scholars reflect the depth of talent and determination found in community colleges across the country,\u201d said Giuseppe \u201cSeppy\u201d Basili, Chief Executive Officer of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, in a press announcement of the award. \u201cThey\u2019ve demonstrated what they\u2019re capable of, and we\u2019re proud to help ensure that financial barriers don\u2019t prevent them from continuing their education and realizing their full potential.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Greenfield Community College student Mike Hannigan has been named a 2026 recipient of the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship, one of the nation\u2019s most competitive and selective awards for community college students. Selected from more than 1,300 applicants nationwide, Hannigan was among just 60 students chosen to receive the scholarship, which provides […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4307,"featured_media":4642,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-student"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4307"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4641"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4641\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4643,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4641\/revisions\/4643"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}