MiraCosta College is proud to announce that students Carlos Tapia and Alexander Aurich have been named semifinalists for the highly competitive Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. This year, only 485 semifinalists were selected from a pool of more than 1,300 applicants, representing 224 community colleges across 37 states.

Awarded by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, the scholarship is one of the nation’s most prestigious honors for community college students. It recognizes exceptional academic achievement, leadership, perseverance, and financial need. The scholarship provides recipients with the opportunity to complete their bachelor’s degrees debt-free at any accredited U.S. college or university, offering last-dollar funding of up to $55,000 per year for two to three years.

For Carlos Tapia, an electrical engineering student and North County resident, being named a semifinalist reflects a journey built on persistence and growth. After initially facing uncertainty about returning to the classroom as an adult learner, Tapia was encouraged by his girlfriend to pursue his long-held goal of becoming an engineer.

At MiraCosta, Tapia immersed himself in the MESA and NASA Space Grant programs, where he worked on building a rover. He currently leads a team in a robotics project for Computer Science for the Common Good.

“I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it,” Tapia says. “Engineering was always something I wanted to pursue. No one does it alone. The best thing you can do is immerse yourself in a community and ask for help when you need it.”

Tapia plans to transfer to UC San Diego to study electrical engineering with a focus on machine vision and autonomous systems. He hopes to apply these technologies to assist emergency responders and improve the quality of life for older adults. Reflecting on his time at the college, he adds, “MiraCosta has been amazing. It’s been a phenomenal journey. I’ve felt so supported here, and I’m going to miss it when I transfer.”

For Alexander Aurich, the recognition marks a milestone rooted in his family’s history. Aurich’s mother immigrated to the United States from Sinaloa, Mexico, at age 15 and attended MiraCosta, but was unable to finish due to financial barriers.

“To continue what she started—that’s everything to me,” Aurich says. “She’s my ‘why.’”

Pursuing a degree in political science with an emphasis on international relations, Aurich aims to become a Foreign Service Officer to foster global stability. During his time at MiraCosta, he has utilized campus support systems, including counseling and the food pantry, to stay on track. “These weren’t just services,” he explains. “They made me feel like my goals were actually within reach.”

Aurich has distinguished himself by presenting research at the statewide Honors Transfer Council of California’s Building Bridges Conference and is scheduled to present at Stanford University this spring. Now applying to top-tier institutions like UC Berkeley, Georgetown, and Stanford, Aurich credits his growth to his time on campus. “In the last two years alone, I wouldn’t have believed I’d be where I am now,” he says. “But MiraCosta helped me see what’s possible.”