{"id":20024,"date":"2025-02-11T15:24:12","date_gmt":"2025-02-11T21:24:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arch.tamu.edu\/?p=20024"},"modified":"2025-02-11T15:39:43","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T21:39:43","slug":"first-cooper-scholarships-awarded-to-urban-planning-students-at-texas-am","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arch.tamu.edu\/news\/2025\/02\/11\/first-cooper-scholarships-awarded-to-urban-planning-students-at-texas-am\/","title":{"rendered":"First Cooper Scholarships Awarded to Urban Planning Students at Texas A&M"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The future careers of two urban planning students are being supported by a new scholarship created in honor of John T. Cooper Jr. \u201992, who is widely considered a leader in the fields of city planning, public engagement and community development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Windya Weideniya \u201925 and Jaelin Lopez \u201926 are the first \u201cCooper Scholars\u201d or recipients of the Texas Target Communities (TxTC) John T. Cooper, Jr. Foundation Excellence Award. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am driven by a desire to create equitable, resilient and thriving communities where everyone could succeed,\u201d said Welideniya, a Master of Urban Planning student and one of the recipients. \u201cI am truly honored to be a Cooper Scholar, and this scholarship will significantly support me in achieving my educational and career aspirations. It has given me the confidence and resources to continue striving toward these goals.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Recognizing his lasting impact on Texas Target Communities, a nationally recognized initiative at Texas A&M focused on providing technical assistance to rural counties and small cities across Texas, colleagues of former director Cooper established a scholarship in his honor. The program, housed within the Texas A&M University College of Architecture, partners with local governments and stakeholders to build sustainable, equitable and resilient communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen he joined in 2012 to revitalize the program, he was the visionary behind a new approach to partnering with communities,\u201d said Jaimie Masterson, current director of TxTC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cooper says that while the scholarship has his name on it, it is really a \u201creflection of the inspiration and a manifestation of the encouragement I received from my parents and grandparents, mentors, community elders and ancestors.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese students were impressive both on paper and in person,\u201d Cooper said of the first cohort of recipients. \u201cI\u2019m proud they\u2019ll represent this scholarship.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cooper Scholar Lopez, a Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Planning student, said she\u2019s excited to continue to learn and grow in her education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe upcoming generation, my generation, is the future,\u201d said Lopez. \u201cThe cities we plan to develop and design are fundamentally based on the people they serve.”\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Organizers say the scholarship was created to recognize and support the next\u00a0generation of leaders in city planning and community development.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cooper has a strong commitment to education which he said is deeply rooted in his family’s legacy of valuing learning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He is a two-time A&M graduate with degrees in economics\/finance and urban planning, and a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He joined the faculty in 2012, became director of Texas Target Communities in 2013 and moved up to be assistant vice president at Texas A&M in the former Office of Public Partnership and Outreach. He currently serves as a professor of the practice in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning in the College of Architecture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Coming from a long line of educators and scholars, he said he often reflects on the influence of his great-uncle Maurice Smith, who dreamed of becoming a veterinarian from a young age. When Smith\u2019s mother, Margarette Dangerfield-Smith, wrote to Texas A&M’s veterinary school, they were turned away because the university did not admit African American students at the time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1988, when Cooper was admitted into Texas A&M as an undergraduate student, he said his uncle was very proud. Years later, Smith was one of the first people Cooper called when he accepted a job as professor of the practice at Texas A&M. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUncle Maurice was one of my biggest supporters with regard to my pursuit of an education,\u201d said Cooper. \u201cHe was a role model for me; an intellectual, a gentleman and a man of style. When you see me in a suit and tie or wearing a fedora like the logo of the Cooper Scholarship, just know I\u2019m imitating my Uncle Maurice.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cooper said he hopes the scholarship will continue to grow and create a network of students that will serve as a legacy at Texas A&M. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Inspired scholarship<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Cooper\u2019s legacy<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n