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MSU alumna Sommai Purintun LeBron-Cooke creates scholarship endowment

01 June 2021

Sommai Purintun LeBron-Cooke (92) has a passion for philanthropy, education and economic and social justice. Through the creation of a scholarship endowment with the MSU Foundation, she can support these causes that are important to her.

LeBron-Cooke grew up in Morehead and graduated from Rowan County Senior High School. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in philosophy from MSU in 1992. She also holds a certification in sports philanthropy from The George Washington University School of Business. She now resides in the San Francisco Bay area. LeBron-Cooke has worked in the field of philanthropy for over a decade. In 2019, she founded IMPACT Sports Philanthropy. IMPACT assists athletes leveraging their platforms for social and environmental good. The company promotes philanthropy to advance economic, social and environmental justice for underserved communities.

LeBron-Cooke has been a loyal and generous alumna for several years. In 2014, she began funding an annual scholarship through the MSU Foundation. To ensure the scholarship would continue to be awarded for years to come, she contributed $25,000 to endow the scholarship indefinitely.

“Morehead State University supported me through obstacles that could have been detrimental to obtaining a degree.” LeBron-Cooke said. “I am proud to establish this scholarship that will continue advancing equity in education for young women with diverse ethnic backgrounds who make a difference in their communities through service to others.”

Recipients of the Sommai Purintun LeBron-Cooke Scholarship must be residents of MSU’s 22-county service region with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 or above. Priority will be given to female students from Rowan and Pike counties from underrepresented minority groups. Student’s community service involvement will be taken into consideration during the selection process.

Students interested in applying to this scholarship, along with other privately funded scholarships managed by the MSU Foundation, should visit the online scholarship application at moreheadstate.awardspring.com.

For more information on this scholarship, or to establish your own, contact MSU’s Office of Alumni Relations and Development at 606-783-2033, email giving@moreheadstate.edu or visit alumni.moreheadstate.edu.