The Truman Scholarship was created by Congress in 1975 in honor of Harry S. Truman, the 33rd ... [+]
The 2024 cohort of Truman Scholars were announced Friday by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation.
This year’s group includes 60 students from 54 U.S. colleges and universities selected to receive the prestigious graduate scholarship for aspiring public service leaders in the United States.
Each year about 60 Truman Scholars are selected from hundreds of college juniors who go through a multi-stage selection process, requiring a nomination by their undergraduate colleges, selection as a finalist by a Truman Finalist Selection Committee, and an interview with one of the regional review panels that make the final choices. Candidates may major in any subject likely to lead to a public service career, and they can pursue any graduate degree, other than the MBA.
Nominees are evaluated on the basis of academic success and leadership accomplishments, as well as the likelihood of becoming public service leaders. This year 709 candidates were nominated by 285 colleges and universities. The finalist selection committee selected 193 students from 136 institutions to interview with the Foundation’s regional review panels.
“Resourceful, patriotic leaders, today’s Truman Scholars would make President Truman proud,” said Dr. Terry Babcock-Lumish, the Foundation’s Executive Secretary and a 1996 Truman Scholar from Pennsylvania, in a press release. “Rising to meet their moments in this century as he did his in the 20th century, they are dedicated public servants who do not shy from challenge.”
The 2024 class included:
- Three scholars from institutions with their first-ever winners – Mercyhurst University, Rutgers University-Camden, and Wayne State University.
- Six institutions with multiple Truman Scholars – American University, Brown University, Columbia University, Northwestern University, the United States Air Force Academy, and the University of Pennsylvania.
- 30 scholars from public universities, 28 scholars from private research universities, and 2 scholars who attended service academies.
You can find the full list and biographies of 2024 Truman Scholars here.
Considered the premier graduate scholarship for students intending to enter governmental work or public service, the Truman Scholarship was created by an act of Congress in 1975 soon after President Harry S. Truman passed away. It was established as a living memorial to Truman, and for nearly 50 years Truman Scholarships have reflected the legacy of the 33rd President by supporting and inspiring Americans from diverse backgrounds to enter public service.
As a condition of a Truman award, scholars must work in public service for three of the seven years following completion of a Foundation-funded graduate degree program. They’re also required to file annual reports with the Foundation in order to maintain their scholarship funding.
The stipend is up to $30,000 toward a public service graduate degree, but some institutions make arrangements to add supplemental funding of their own. In addition, scholars receive leadership training, career counseling, and special internship and fellowship opportunities within the federal government. The Scholars also take part in the Truman Scholars Leadership Week, held at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri.
As in the past, many of this year’s scholars are students of color, first-generation college students, and recent immigrants to the United States. This year’s cohort includes students studying in a broad range of areas, including political science, English, environmental studies, engineering. philosophy, genetics, biology, and sociology.
Also represented are political activists; community organizers; Congressional, judicial and White House interns; published researchers and authors; founders of non-profit organizations and start-ups; a submariner, a firefighter and a debate coach.
Consistent with the intent of the Truman program, the Scholars’ fields of study span a broad array of interests, illustrated by these few examples:
- Juan Dills is pursuing his bachelor's degree in social work at the University of Oklahoma. Overcoming a history of abuse, foster care, and a period of incarceration in his past, Dills currently serves as a behavioral health case manager and senior peer recovery support specialist. A single father of two, Dills has been a volunteer at the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
- Desaree Edwards is a first-generation college student studying neuroscience and human rights advocacy at Wesleyan University. After high school, she enlisted in the US Navy as a Nuclear Machinist’s Mate and became the first enlisted nuclear-trained female submariner in the Atlantic Fleet. She’s also worked as a legal assistant for a Judge Advocate General and intends to earn a JD with an emphasis on public interest law.
- Lezlie Hilario is a first-generation college student with a double major in political science and global interdisciplinary studies at Villanova University. At Villanova, she’s been a cheerleader on the Villanova cheer team, serves as co-president of the Latin American Student Organization, and is a member of the leadership team for BIPOC, a multicultural student-athlete group on campus. She is an alumna of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, where she worked on Capitol Hill in the U.S. House of Representatives.
- Alexandra Mork studies political science and history at Brown University, where she served as editor-in-chief of the Brown Political Review. Currently, she’s conducting research on voter registration in high schools as a fellow for the Taubman Center for American Politics. Alexandra has interned for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, the Center for American Progress, the Rhode Island Center for Justice, Organize New Hampshire, Public Citizen, and Loyola’s Project for the Innocent. She founded the Student Legal Association Supporting Housing, which organizes Brown student volunteers to assist Providence tenants in eviction proceedings. Alexandra aims to earn a JD/MPA and ultimately work as a civil rights appellate lawyer.
- Isaac Seiler is a junior studying sociology and political science at Washington University in St. Louis. His advocacy career began when he organized hundreds of students to protest a decision to fire a professor for officiating a gay wedding. He then pursued a year in politics and government, starting as a congressional campaign intern before being promoted to oversee digital operations and strategy. He plans to earn his JD to enforce tax law and drive tax reform and intends to eventually run for public office.
The 60 new scholars join a community of 3,564 Truman Scholars named since the first awards in 1977. Included in that group are such noteworthy figures as US Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch (1987), Senator Chris Coons (1983), Representative Gabe Amo (2009), Representative Ted Deutch (1986), Representative Dusty Johnson (1998), Representative Andy Kim (2003), Representative Tom Malinowski (1985), Representative Greg Stanton (1990), White House Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice (1984), National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan (1997), former Arizona Governor and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano (1977), former Secretary of Education John King (1995), and Fair Fight founder Stacey Abrams (1994).
