SGA President, Trent White, is a finalist for the Harry S. Truman Scholarship. White expresses his efforts and challenges that he faced up to this point, but his gratitude for being able to apply.

Photo illustration of Harry S. Truman. (Contributed/Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation Facebook)

The Harry S. Truman Scholarship focuses on aspiring leaders who are juniors in college. This scholarship began in May 1989 and has been growing since. The process is a long one in which hundreds of juniors apply for 60 awards and have to have a good record of public service and other leadership dynamics.

“I have always been interested in public service and government and the Truman Scholarship exemplifies just that. When I learned more about the Truman Scholarship and what it does for students, along with the doors it opens, I knew that I had to apply just to see where it would go,” stated White.

As someone who deals with government and addressing societal issues, White was a good candidate for this scholarship. He states that one of the requirements was to be committed to entering public service after graduate school, which was the overall goal for the Truman Scholarship.

“The program helps cover the cost of graduate school, whether that’s law school or getting your MPA, anything that would direct you toward public service, they will help support,” said White.

White talks about his vigorous process and the challenges he faced along the way. Since October 2023, White has written various essay drafts for this scholarship to get the perfect essay to send in. His main goal was to ensure that his essays were cohesive and perfect.

Photo of SGA president Trent White. (Contributed/Trent White)

“What’s so different compared to other programs, they want to see uniformity throughout the process so that’s what I had to work for and work towards, which was a several months-long process. From there you get an email that either congratulates you or unfortunately sends you away,” stated White.

Until then, the final decisions will not be made until April. White says that getting this scholarship will open the door for him in the government aspect, which involves meeting notable in the government and attend law school with scholarships. The prize is $30,ooo, which will aid greatly in furthering his and other recipient’s education.

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