DETROIT (AP) – A high school graduate from the Detroit area has been named the first recipient of a scholarship named for journalist James Foley, who was kidnapped in Syria and later beheaded by Islamic State militants.
Jake Zelinski, 18, of Rochester Hills, is Marquette University’s first James Foley scholar, the school announced Wednesday, the anniversary of Foley’s death.
Foley, a 1996 graduate of Marquette, was kidnapped in Syria in November 2012 when the car he was riding in was stopped by four militants in a battle zone that Sunni rebel fighters and government forces were trying to control. His videotaped execution was posted online.
After his death, more than 1,370 people from around the world contributed over $320,000 to the James Foley Endowed Scholarship Fund. The $8,000 scholarship will be given bi-annually and is renewable each year.
Zelinski, who graduated in May from the University of Detroit Jesuit High School, plans to major in theater arts and digital media at Marquette.