The 2025 cohort of Truman Scholars was announced Friday by former Arizona Governor and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, President of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation.
This year’s group includes 54 students from 49 U.S. colleges and universities selected to receive what is widely regarded as one of the most coveted graduate scholarships for aspiring public service leaders in the United States.
Each year about 60 Truman Scholars are selected from hundreds of college juniors who go through a multi-stage selection process, requiring a nomination by their undergraduate colleges, selection as a finalist by a Truman Finalist Selection Committee, and an interview with one of the regional review panels that make the final choices. Candidates may major in any subject likely to lead to a public service career, and they can pursue any graduate degree, other than the MBA.
Nominees are evaluated on the basis of academic success and leadership accomplishments, as well as the likelihood of becoming public service leaders. This year 743 candidates were nominated by 288 colleges and universities. The finalist selection committee then selected 201 students from 137 universities and colleges for interviews with the Foundation’s regional review panels.
“Resourceful, patriotic leaders, today’s Truman Scholars would make President Truman proud,” said Dr. Terry Babcock-Lumish, the Foundation’s Executive Secretary, in the news release. “Rising to meet their moments in this century as he did his in the 20th century, they are dedicated public servants who do not shy from challenge.”
The 2025 cohort includes:
- Five scholars from institutions with their first-ever winners – DePaul University, Drury University, Hillsdale College, Northeastern Illinois University, and Xavier University of Louisiana.
- Five institutions with multiple Truman Scholars – Georgetown University, Harvard University, New York Universty, Xavier University of Louisiana, and Yale University.
- 23 scholars from public universities, 24 scholars from private research universities, 5 from private liberal arts colleges and 2 scholars who attended service academies.
You can see all the scholars here.
The highly prestigious Truman Scholarship was created by an act of Congress in 1975 soon after President Harry S. Truman passed away. It was established as a living memorial to Truman, and for nearly 50 years Truman Scholarships have reflected the legacy of the 33rd President by supporting and inspiring Americans from diverse backgrounds to enter public service.
As a condition of a Truman award, scholars must work in public service for three of the seven years following completion of a Foundation-funded graduate degree program. They’re also required to file annual reports with the Foundation in order to maintain their scholarship funding.
The Foundation defines public service as employment in government at any level, uniformed services, public-interest organizations, nongovernmental research and/or educational organizations, public and private schools, and public service-oriented nonprofit organizations.
The stipend is up to $30,000 toward a public service graduate degree, but some institutions make arrangements to add supplemental funding of their own. In addition, scholars receive leadership training, career counseling, and special internship and fellowship opportunities within the federal government. The Scholars also take part in the Truman Scholars Leadership Week, held at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri.
As in the past, several of this year’s scholars are students of color, first-generation college students, and immigrants to the United States. This year’s cohort includes students studying for public service in a wide range of areas, including public health, criminal justice, education, national security, veterans affairs, gerontology, rural development, housing policy and cybersecurity.
Also represented are political activists, veterans of the armed services, aspiring journalists, former White House interns, published researchers, and founders of non-profit organizations.
Consistent with the aims of the Truman program, the Scholars’ fields of study span a broad array of interests, illustrated by these few examples:
- Amina Anekwe is a junior at New York University, where she participated in several university organizations, including the NYU Expository Writing Student Advisory Board, the NYU Dean’s Service Honor Corps, the NYU CAS Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Council, and NYU’s student newspaper, Washington Square News. She plans to attend law school and obtain a masters degree in public health.
- Josh Donaldson attends the University of Missouri where he is majoring in biological engineering. He’s studied Swahili in Tanzania and is the executive director of Tiger Pantry, where he manages a team of 30 student leaders and 45 volunteers to deliver free food, hygiene items and clothing to hundreds of households monthly.
- Izzy Wagener attends Georgetown University, where she joined Georgetown’s Free Speech Project and also served as a writer and photo editor for The Georgetown Voice. She plans to pursue graduate studies in investigative journalism, with a focus on accountability journalism and issues such as labor rights.
- University of Oklahoma student Anna Hyslop is a double major in economics and global energy, environment and resources. She has interned with the U.S. Department of Energy, the White House Council of Economic Advisers, and the Brookings Institution. She also founded Students for Local Action, a student-run policy writing organization at OU. Hyslop plans to pursue a career in electricity law and local government.
- Zachary Stockton is an English and writing major at Drury University in Springfield, Missouri. He has been named as a Critical Language Scholarship Award winner by the U.S. State Department. His major interests are fostering housing humanity and fighting poverty. He contributes to the Springfield Tenants Union as a communications writer, and he has authored several creative works relating to social justice and housing.
The 54 awardees join a community of 3,618 Truman Scholars named since the first awards in 1977.
Included in that group are such noteworthy figures as U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch (1987), Senator Chris Coons (1983), Representative Dusty Johnson (1998), Representative Andy Kim (2003), Representative Greg Stanton (1990), White House Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice (1984), National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan (1997), former Arizona Governor and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano (1977), former Secretary of Education John King (1995), and Fair Fight founder Stacey Abrams (1994).