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Truman
winners Anna Carpenter (left) and JoAnna Smith (right) with Interim
President Neil Kerwin '71. photo
by Jeff Watts |
Students
Receive Prestigious Truman Scholarships and Presidential Management Fellowships
It’s been 17 years since the last time two AU students were awarded
the Harry S. Truman Foundation Scholarship
in the same year. Anna Carpenter and JoAnna Smith have done just that.
The third-year AU students were named Truman Scholars from AU’s
pool of three finalists, bringing AU’s total Truman
Scholarship winners to 13, with six awarded in the last seven years.
The prestigious scholarship will provide Carpenter and Smith with up to
$30,000 to pursue a graduate degree in public service. Carpenter, who
will complete her undergraduate degree in international studies one year
early in May 2007, wants to pursue a dual graduate degree in social work
and public policy.
“With this degree I am hoping to work with refugee communities in
the United States as a social worker at a social service organization,”
says Carpenter. “Specifically, I would like to go back to Minnesota,
where I am from, and work with refugee communities focusing on social
services available to domestic violence victims within immigrant and refugee
neighborhoods.” After she gains experience with the diverse communities
in Minnesota, she wants to work abroad helping trauma survivors in post-conflict
societies.
Smith’s goals lie in another section of the public policy spectrum.
She is the 2006-2007 director of Women’s Initiative, a women’s
advocacy group, and a wellness advocate for the Naked Truth, an on-campus
health education program. To continue working with women’s issues,
Smith plans to put her scholarship award toward law school so she can focus
on public policy law and specifically reproductive rights issues.
“I would like to pursue a career in public policy at an organization
like the National Women's Law Center or Legal Momentum that does public
policy and legal advocacy on a variety of women's issues including access
to reproductive health care,” says Smith, a junior in the School
of Public Affairs. “I want to be one of the people who ensures that
women are able to pay for their doctor’s visits, can obtain birth
control, and can take care of themselves and their children during and
after pregnancy.”
Carpenter and Smith aren’t the only AU students celebrating their
awards. The Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) were announced in March,
and 37
AU graduate and law students received the coveted fellowship, ranking
AU third in the nation for this prestigious two-year government-sponsored
program. PMF finalists are eligible for appointments by participating
federal agencies, giving them a boost on their way to management positions.
SIS led the way with 20 finalists; WCL had 10 students; SPA had four;
CAS had two; and SOC had one finalist.
In addition, sophomores Claire Roby and Casey Roe, and junior Erin O’Sullivan
were each awarded a scholarship from the Morris
K. Udall Foundation, which gives $5,000 awards to 80 sophomores and
juniors nationwide who exhibit a strong commitment to a wide range of
environmental fields, including public policy, science, business, and
other topics.
Congratulations to all award winners!
-Tara Shlimowitz ‘08
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