DENTON (UNT), Texas— Jon Savage of Hurst, a recent University of North Texas graduate, is one of only 20 students in the nation to receive the 2013 Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Arts Award for $150,000 to attend graduate school. His parents, Brad and Patricia Berglund, live in Fort Worth. The award from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation recognizes and rewards America's promising up-and-coming artists from lower-income backgrounds with the nation's leading graduate scholarships in the visual arts, performing arts, and creative writing.

“The monetary aspect of the award is a sum substantial enough to change someone's life for good, so I'm grateful for that, but there is something more important in the simple act of recognition,” Savage said.

While at UNT, Savage was a member of both the McNair Scholars Program and the Honors College. He double majored in English and history and double minored in French and Russian, receiving his bachelor’s degrees on May 11.

A review panel of distinguished artists, arts faculty, and university administrators select scholars based on artistic or creative merit, academic achievement, financial need, a desire to engage in and contribute to the world, self-confidence and resilience and other criteria.

Savage will defer the Cooke fellowship to travel and teach in South Korea for one year, where he will apply to a variety of graduate programs.