Anna Carpenter, a junior in the School of International Service, and JoAnna Smith, a junior in the School of Public Affairs, have been named Truman Scholars.
"President Kerwin called me to tell me that I won," Smith said in an e-mail. "I was extremely excited and didn't actually believe it for the first few minutes. I think my friends were more excited than I was, though. There was some jumping up and down involved."
The Truman scholarship program gives winners $30,000 to be used toward a graduate degree in a public service field. Winners commit to work in public service for three of their first seven years after they complete their graduate degree, The Eagle previously reported.
Carpenter and Smith participated in a selection process that Carpenter described as "very competitive." Students first must be nominated by their university before they apply. Then applicants have to submit paper applications, Carpenter said in an e-mail.
Smith said she found the paper application the most difficult part of the application process, but was helped by the services offered at AU through the Career Center and their Office of Merit Awards.
"You have to rewrite the same 500 character paragraphs over and over again until they are perfect," Smith said in an e-mail. "AU does an amazing job of supporting its candidates and the best part of the process was hearing the opinions of faculty and staff members on how I could improve my application."
The essay portion of the application requires students to select a problem in society they want to address to develop a policy proposal, The Eagle previously reported.
Smith's proposal focused on passing a bill requiring insurance companies to cover contraceptives if they cover other prescription drugs, The Eagle previously reported, while Carpenter looked into specific language in the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Act that does not allow applicants who had provided "material support" to "terrorists or terrorist organizations" asylum in the United States.
If students' policy papers are accepted to move onto the next round, students must undergo an interview process, Carpenter said.
"The interview was probably the most difficult part of the selection process for me," Carpenter said in an e-mail. "During the interview they can ask you anything - about your job experience, thoughts on past and current presidents, thoughts on past and current domestic and foreign policy - it's incredibly daunting to go into this interview not knowing what they're going to ask you."
Carpenter said she felt less confident after leaving the interview.
"I left feeling like I had failed the interview process and was pretty convinced that I hadn't been picked as a Truman Scholar," she said in an e-mail.
Smith and Carpenter are graduating AU early and working on not only their graduate schooling, but their area of study, showing their passion for the topics they chose to present.
Carpenter said she will be applying for positions as a case manager at refugee resettlement agencies in the United States and is also applying to Americorps. Carpenter also said she wants to take a few years off before pursuing graduate school, saying she will probably go to the University of Minnesota to pursue a master's degree in social work and public policy.
Smith said she wants to participate in a summer internship offered by the Truman Foundation, and then plans to attend law school either in D.C. or another institution that has a strong focus on public policy law.
