Among This Year’s Truman Scholars, Women Outnumber Men 33 to 21

The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation has announced the selection of the 2016 Truman Scholars. Each Truman Scholar is awarded up to $30,000 for graduate study. They also receive priority admission to several top-tier graduate schools, have career and graduate school counseling opportunities, and are fast-tracked for internships within the federal government.

Truman Scholars must be U.S. citizens and be in the top 25 percent of their college class. They must express a commitment to government service or the nonprofit sector. Since the establishment of the program in 1975, 3,077 students have been named Truman Scholars.

This year, 54 Truman scholars were selected from 775 candidates nominated by 305 colleges and universities. Of this year’s 54 Truman Scholars, 33, or 61.1 percent, are women.

Logan Beyer is a student at Duke University where she developed an independent major focused on child development. She plans to pursue both a master’s degree in education and a medical doctorate with a specialization in pediatrics.

Margaret Brown is double majoring in urban studies and human rights at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. In addition to her college work, Brown works for a nonprofit youth development organization in the city of Hartford and volunteers in the public schools. She also played varsity basketball at Trinity.

Katelyn Campbell is a native of West Virginia and a student at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. She is majoring in American studies with a concentration in history. When she completes her education, Campbell plans to return to West Virginia to work in community development and reproductive health advocacy.

Allyson Carpenter is a junior at Howard University in Washington, D.C., studying political science and community development. At age 18, she was elected to serve as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in the District of Columbia, making her the youngest elected official in the history of the nation’s capital.

Jessica Depies is a student at Boston University pursuing a double major in international relations and economics. She has conducted field research in Northeastern Brazil and interned for the political office of the U.S. Embassy in Peru. She plans on a career focusing on global development policy.

Daniela Estrada is majoring in political science with a concentration in public law at the University of California, Irvine. She has interned at the Orange County District Attorney’s office and plans to attend law school.

Jill Ferguson is a student at the University of Virginia, where she is majoring in materials science and nanotechnology engineering. Her research is focusd on using nanotechnology to make solar energy cells more efficient. She plans to continue her education in materials engineering at MIT.

Madelyn Fife is a student at Utah State University majoring in economics and political science. She is the president-elect of the Huntsman Scholar Program at the university. Fife plans to go to law school and concentrate on education law.

Amalia Gomez-Rexrode from Washington, D.C., is a junior at the University of Michigan. She is majoring in cellular and molecular biology as well as political science. She hopes to enroll in a joint medical doctorate and master of public health program. She has served as a White House intern.

Bianca Guerrero is a Kluge Scholar and political science major at Columbia University in New York City. She has a deep interest in education access and reform. As an intern at City in the Community in East Harlem and then in Manchester, England, she used soccer programs to keep disadvantaged youth on track academically.

Elizabeth Hale is an international studies major at Colorado State University. Her studies are focused on the Middle East and Northern Africa. She began the study of the Arabic language at the age of 13. A native of New Mexico, she plans to pursue a master’s degree in Arabic linguistics.

Sarah Hartman is an environmental engineering major at the University of Delaware. Her research focuses on water quality issues. She is the founder and manager of an Engineers Without Borders water quality project in the Philippines. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in environmental engineering.

Natalie Jones is an English and sociology double major at Mississippi State University. She is a Presidential Endowed Scholar at her school and is a member of the Shackouls Honors College. Natalie is the founder of the Shackouls Honors College Diversity Initiative and is also a member of the university’s student government. Her post-graduate goals include receiving a juris doctorate and a master’s degree in public policy.

Ciara Malaugh is a student at the University of Alabama, where she is double majoring in political science and French. She is also pursuing a minor program in psychology. She has been active in the organization United Students Against Sweatshops.

Victoria Maloch grew up on a cattle farm and currently is a student at the University of Arkansas, majoring in agricultural business. She plans to go to law school and concentrate on agricultural and food law.

Victoria Mousley is a native of Vermont and a student at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, where she is concentrating on psychology, women’s studies, and deaf studies. She plans on a career in the field of cognitive neuroscience with a focus on language acquisition.

Danielle Neighbour from Kansas City is pursuing an undergraduate degree in civil engineering with a minor in Spanish at the University of Arkansas. She plans to earn a master’s degree in water resources and environmental engineering.

Asma Noray is a native of Nairobi, Kenya. She is majoring in political science and Arabic at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. She plans to pursue graduate studies in public policy and international affairs with a focus on refugee policy and humanitarian aid.

Briana Payton, from metropolitan Detroit, is a junior at Princeton University in New Jersey. She is a sociology major with minors in African American studies, American studies, and Spanish language and culture. She hopes to earn a master’s degree in social service administration and pursue a career working with nonprofits and NGOs that focus on youth empowerment and development.

Lia Petrose is a junior studying neuroscience, economics, and international and area studies with a focus on health economics and macro-level health policy at the University of Pittsburgh. She has conducted research in Malawi concerning the cost-effectiveness of health information management systems. After graduation, Petrose hopes to pursue a dual career in medicine and health policy.

Sarah Rudasill from Pennsylvania is a student at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She is majoring in economics with minors in chemistry and health policy administration. She plans to go to medical school and to pursue a career in healthcare policy.

Wendy Ruiz is the daughter of Mexican-American farmworkers and a first-generation college student. She is a political science major at Florida International University in Miami and is also in the women’s and gender studies certificate program. Ruiz plans to enroll in a master’s degree program in educational policy studies.

Zoie Sheets is a junior at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is majoring in biology with minors in Spanish and chemistry. Sheets hopes to become a teaching physician.

Chauncy Stephens is majoring in elementary education at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. She plans to pursue a career in public education and social work that advocates for the needs of low-income communities.

Kali Tambree is a sociology major with concentrations in Africana studies and prison studies at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in sociology. She directs the Vassar Prison Initiative, and is a member of the national Student Alliance for Prison Reform.

Hannah Wilson is triple majoring in philosophy, political science, and women’s and gender studies at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. She hopes to continue her education in the joint JD/Ph.D. program at the University of California, Berkeley.

Grace Watkins is a junior at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, where she is majoring in philosophy. She is the director of communications for Education Bridge, a non-profit focused on rebuilding the Jonglei State in South Sudan through education.