24 Women Named Truman Scholars

The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation has announced that 54 students at American colleges and universities have been selected for Truman Scholarships. The 54 new Truman Scholars were selected from among 587 candidates nominated by 292 colleges and universities.

Each new Truman Scholar receives up to $30,000 for graduate study. Scholars also receive priority admission and supplemental financial aid at some premier graduate institutions, leadership training, career and graduate school counseling, and special internship opportunities within the federal government. Recipients must be U.S. citizens, have outstanding leadership potential and communication skills, be in the top quarter of their class, and be committed to careers in government or the non-profit sector.

The Truman Scholarship Foundation was established by Congress in 1975 as the federal memorial to our thirty-third President. The foundation awards scholarships for college students to attend graduate school in preparation for careers in government or elsewhere in public service. The activities of the foundation are supported by a special trust fund in the U.S. Treasury.

There have been 2,844 Truman Scholars selected since the first awards were made in 1977. Of the 54 new scholars this year, 24 are women. Here are brief biographies of the Truman Scholars who are women.

(L to R) Top row: Charity Ann Porotesano, Leah Luben, Sejal Hathi, Beth Ibtisam Hanish, Joanna Foote, Joanna Shawntae Smith, Emma Cathleen Steigerwald, Elyssa Rae-Ann Correia, Kristen Ann Lee, Alicia Yvette Nieves, Conner Spinks, and Emma Louise Smith. Second row: Nicole R. Golden, Anne Minerva Preston, Victoria Temitope Okuneye, Brittany Ann Partridge, Chelsea Garnet Johnson, Jessica Wamala, Phoebe McDaniel Kotlikoff, J'Taime Brion Lyons, Madeleine Gorkin Daepp, Fay Carolyn Walker, Ashley Victoria Edgette, and Katherine Elida Warren.

Charity Ann Porotesano is a native of American Samoa who is enrolled at Grinnell College in Iowa.

Leah Luben is a student at Arizona State University who plans to earn a Ph.D. in economics.

Sejal Hathi from California is enrolled at Yale University where she is majoring in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology.

Beth Ibtisam Hanish is a student at Amherst College in Massachusetts, where she is majoring in anthropology and political science. She plans to go to law school.

Joanna Foote is a junior at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She plans to study immigration law and to earn a master’s degree in public policy.

Joanna Shawntae Smith is a native of Miami, Florida, who is enrolled at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. She plans on a law degree and a graduate degree in education.

Emma Cathleen Steigerwald is a molecular and cellular biology major at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. She hopes to earn a doctorate in veterinary medicine and a Ph.D. and work in wildlife medicine.

Elyssa Rae-Ann Correia is a political science major at the University of Hawaii Hilo. She plans on obtaining a law degree and to work to stop drug abuse.

Kristen Ann Lee is a junior at Duke University where she is majoring in sociology. She plans on completing a medical degree and master in public health degree and hopes to be a lifelong advocate for reproductive rights and women’s health.

Alicia Yvette Nieves is enrolled at Indiana University. She hopes to obtain a law degree and work in the field of immigration law.

Conner Spinks is a political science major with a gender, women’s, and sexuality studies minor at the University of Iowa. She plans to pursue a master of social work degree.

Emma Louise Smith of Kansas is a student at Dartmouth College where she is majoring in history and geography. She aspires to work in North Africa after earning a master’s of human rights law from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

Nicole R. Golden is a psychology and sociology major at the University of Maine. She plans to enter law school and to one day run for public office.

Anne Minerva Preston from Maryland, is a junior at Temple University in Philadelphia. She plans to earn masters degrees in business administration and social work.

Victoria Temitope Okuneye from Minnesota, is a junior at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is majoring in brain and cognitive sciences with minors in applied international studies and chemistry. She hopes to get an MD/Ph.D.

Brittany Ann Partridge is a student at Abilene Christian University in Texas. She plans to complete a law degree and to work in the foreign service.

Chelsea Garnet Johnson is enrolled at Nebraska Wesleyan University where she is majoring in political science. She plans to pursue a career in environmental and energy policy.

Jessica Wamala from New Hampshire is a student at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. She plans to earn a master’s degree and join the foreign service as a political affairs officer.

Phoebe McDaniel Kotlikoff is a junior at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. She majors in quantitative economics with a minor in Spanish.

J’Taime Brion Lyons is a sociology major at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She plans on a career in education policy.

Madeleine Gorkin Daepp is majoring in economics and mathematics at Washington University in St. Louis. She plans on a career in agricultural law.

Fay Carolyn Walker from Rhode Island is enrolled at Occidental College in Los Angeles. She is spending the current semester in Khon Kaen, Thailand, studying globalization and development.

Ashley Victoria Edgette is a student at the University of Utah where she is majoring in political science and environmental studies. She plans on a career in city planning and community development.

Katherine Elida Warren from Washington State is a junior at Harvard University. She hopes to go to medical school and work in the field of women’s health.