UNL will hold a day of workshops Nov. 8 devoted to helping students compete for nationally competitive scholarships. Truman Day will culminate with UNL being recognized as one of two 2010 Honor Institutions by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation.
The workshops will be led by UNL alumni and current students who successfully completed the application process. They include: Truman Scholars, Truman finalists, a Marshall Scholar, a Goldwater Scholar and one alumnus who won both the Truman Scholarship and the Fulbright Scholarship. All were scholarship winners or finalists within the last 10 years.
The 45-minute workshops will include a presentation by the scholars and finalists and will give students a chance to ask questions about the application process. The workshops will serve as a guide to understanding the complexity of the application process and as a confidence boost for students considering applying.
"I hope that they learn that it's possible to win these," Laura Damuth, fellowship adviser and Fulbright program adviser, said. "We have the students to prove it."
The recognition as an Honor Institution is an award from the Truman Foundation. The award acknowledges institutions that encourage their students to pursue public service careers and that successfully help their students win Truman Scholarships. The Truman Foundation awards scholarships to college juniors who want to have careers in public service. The recognition as an Honor Institution is a validation of students and the university�¢ï¿½ï¿½s hard work.
"They have recognized us as an institution that values public service, and consistently produces a lot of Truman scholars and finalists," Damuth said.
The award will be presented at a luncheon by Frederick Slabach, the executive secretary of the Truman Foundation. Chancellor Harvey Perlman will accept the award on behalf of the university.
Workshops begin at 9 a.m. with a plenary session for faculty, staff and students at Kauffman Great Hall. Three-track student workshops begin at 10 a.m. on the Truman application, the U.K. Academic Experience, and Teach for America, NGOs or law school; at 1:30 on the Goldwater application, a mock interview and the Truman Policy Proposal; at 2:30 on Rhodes/Marshall, Fulbright application, and applying for the Truman; and the closing plenary is at 3:30 p.m. The opening plenary and the first student workshops are in Kauffman; the afternoon events are in the Nebraska Union.
UNL was named a Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation Honor Institution in June, in recognition of the university's outstanding record of support for Truman Scholars. Each year the Truman Foundation selects two institutions for its honor award. The award recognizes an institution's active encouragement of students pursuing careers in public service, effective promotion of the Truman Scholarship program, and sustained success in helping students win Truman Scholarships. The other 2010 honoree is Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation awards 60 to 65 merit-based scholarships each year to college juniors to attend graduate school and pursue a career in public service.
Featured alumni and current students during the Truman Day events are Megan Spilinek Schmid (Truman, 2003), Aaron Eske (Marshall, 2006), Bobby Jacobberger (Goldwater, 2010), Sarah Fech (Truman Finalist, 2008), Jonathan Jones (Truman, 2004), Adam Morfeld (Truman finalist, 2008), Emily Snodgrass (Truman finalist, 2006), Angela Clements (Truman, 2001), Matthew Boring (Truman, 2010), and David Solheim (Truman finalist, 2008).