Juniors Jennifer Bailey and Sofia Nelson have won 2008 Truman Scholarships, earning spots on a list of 65 college juniors nationwide to receive the prestigious award.
Bailey serves as the chair of the Tufts Community Union Senate's Culture, Ethnicity and Community Affairs Committee. She is a Tisch Scholar and serves as the president of the Emerging Black Leaders student organization.
Nelson has advocated for the queer community at Tufts, working at the LGBT Center and with political figures. She is also a member of the Tufts Democrats and testified during last year's Primary Source scandal.
In a phone interview, Dean of Undergraduate Education James Glaser had praise for Bailey and Nelson. "Jen Bailey is a very exciting and enthusiastic bridge builder who is going to make a very big difference one day," Glaser said. "Nelson has been a very vigorous advocate of LGBT issues on campus and externally. She's also a force to be reckoned with, and I think that the interview committee must have recognized that within her."
The scholarship, named in honor of former U.S. President Harry Truman, is given to students who have shown promising leadership and a commitment to making a difference through public service.
Calling it the "Rhodes Scholarship of leadership and public service," Glaser said the Truman Scholarship is a very prestigious award that emphasizes qualities many Tufts students see as important.
"The Truman is the external scholarship that Tufts should be continually competitive in because we have some really terrific students who should be attractive to the [Harry S. Truman Scholarship] Foundation. They are looking for people whose future aspirations all tie together."
This is the second time that two Tufts students have been selected for the award in the same year. In the past four years, four Tufts students have been awarded the national honor, a marked increase from the five Tufts winners between 1977 and 2004.
Glaser attributed Tufts' recent success to the university's emphasis on citizenship and public service. "A lot of [our success] has to do with the excitement on campus around civic engagement and the attraction to the university [of] students who are civically engaged. I think that this is what drew [Bailey and Nelson] to Tufts, and we are graced by their presence," he said.
Each of the nation's 65 winners is given a $30,000 scholarship for graduate school and receives internship opportunities within the federal government.
Ten Tufts students applied for the Truman Scholarship, but the foundation's rules demand that each university only nominate four to the national pool, which consists of about 600 students.
Three of the four students Tufts nominated were named finalists. Morissa Sobelson, a junior whom Glaser called a "promising leader and special person," was a finalist but did not win a scholarship.
Each nominee submits an application and attends an interview with a foundation representative. Tufts assisted the four nominees to prepare, helping them with their applications and conducting mock interviews.
Bailey cites her religion as a motivation to help others. "My faith has been a huge role in inspiring me to do public service," she said. "From a young age in church, I was always doing service projects. It was just central to what I was taught."
After graduating, Bailey plans on pursuing a joint master's degree in public policy and divinity and eventually becoming a public policy advocate for education. She also plans on becoming an ordained minister and eventually a pastor.
Being named a Truman Scholar "is a huge honor, and I'm humbled," Bailey said. "I've literally been screaming about it for two days."
Like Bailey, Nelson was shocked when she received a call from President Lawrence Bacow on Monday telling her she had won.
"It's kind of nuts, I didn't expect to win," she said. "I think it has just kind of reaffirmed that other people think what I'm doing is worthwhile."
Once she graduates, Nelson plans on taking a year off before attending law school to either work with the New York City Hunger Coalition or do community outreach through Americorps. She then plans on becoming an advocate for underprivileged communities or going into public policy.
Nelson credits the people at Tufts with helping her find her love for social justice. "I've been so fortunate to find certain people here," she said. "I might have learned most from my classmates while here."
Bailey echoed Nelson's thankfulness to other students. "I was fortunate to have many senior and junior mentors my freshman year who were able to push me to be the best I could be," she said. "The only reason that I am doing what I am doing is because I had older kids pushing me my freshman year."
