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Oglethorpe Student Wins Truman Scholarship
Atlanta – Oglethorpe University junior Ann-Hsiang Hsu of Greer, South Carolina,
has been selected to receive a prestigious Truman Scholarship. The $30,000
scholarship rewards leadership ability, academic achievement, commitment
to public service, and potential to "make a difference."
"This
is a tough competition, which annually draws top candidates from the nation's
liberal arts colleges, state universities, Ivy League schools and the
service academies," said Mary Hale Tolar, associate executive secretary
of the Harry Truman Scholarship Foundation. "We are delighted to
count Ann Hsu, from Oglethorpe University, in this year's Truman class.
Her commitment to her community and to a life of public service is truly
commendable. Ann is a remarkable young woman."
Though
Hsu received word last week that she won the scholarship, her family is
already familiar with the Truman Scholarship Program. Hsu’s first
cousin, Paul Wuh, was awarded a Truman Scholarship in 1986.
"When
[Oglethorpe University] President [Donald S.] Stanton called to inform
me I had won, I was shocked," said Hsu. "I feel that this is
an accomplishment not just of my own, but also of my parents and the outstanding
faculty, staff and students of Oglethorpe University."
The
Truman Scholarship Foundation was established by Congress in 1975 as the
official federal memorial to honor our thirty-third president, Harry S.
Truman. The Foundation awards scholarships for college students to attend
graduate school in preparation for careers in government or elsewhere
in public service. The activities of the Foundation are supported by a
special trust fund in the U.S. Treasury. There have been 1,863 Truman
Scholars elected since the first awards were made in 1977.
Each
Truman Scholarship provides up to $30,000-- $3,000 for the senior year
and $27,000 for two or three years of graduate study. Scholars receive
priority admission and, often, supplemental financial aid at premier graduate
institutions, leadership training, career and graduate school counseling
and special internship opportunities within the federal government.
This
year, 656 candidates from 332 colleges and universities were nominated
for Truman Scholarships. An eighteen-member committee, applying stringent
criteria, chose 200 nominees from 140 institutions as 1999 Truman Scholarship
Finalists. The finalists then competed for up to 65 Truman Scholarships.
Hsu prevailed over students from the University of Georgia, Harvard University
and the U.S. Naval Academy.
"We
could not be more proud of Ann Hsu’s selection as a Truman Scholar,"
said Stanton. "Ann is a superb example of the outstanding student
leaders at Oglethorpe."
Hsu,
a junior international relations major, is the daughter of Chien-Yeh and
Pen-Hsin Hsu, first-generation immigrants from Taiwan. She is a graduate
of Riverside High School in Greer.
At
Oglethorpe University, Hsu is president of her class, features editor
of The Stormy Petrel student newspaper, vice president of Chi Omega Sorority
and vice president of Executive Round Table. She is a member of Alpha
Chi Honor Society, Oglethorpe Ambassadors and the Rich Foundation Urban
Leadership Program. Hsu is also a James Edward Oglethorpe Scholarship
recipient, Oglethorpe University’s most prestigious merit-based scholarship
award.
In
addition, Hsu has worked with the Rich Foundation Urban Leadership Program
in DeKalb County’s Lynwood Park neighborhood, interned at CNN and
the Southern Center for International Studies, and spent a summer in Shanghai,
China through Oglethorpe’s affiliation with ARCHE, the Atlanta Regional
Consortium of Higher Education.
"Ann
has taken advantage of numerous opportunities--on and off campus--that
Oglethorpe has to offer," said Oglethorpe University professor and
Truman Scholarship faculty representative Dr. Joseph M. Knippenberg. "It
virtually goes without saying that she's an excellent student, but she's
more than that. She takes her assignments further and makes what she learns
truly her own. She has the focus, the drive, the knowledge, and the character
to be a real leader in the 21st century."
Oglethorpe
University is an independent, highly selective, coeducational liberal
arts university located in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1835, Oglethorpe
University is dedicated to producing graduates who are broadly educated
in the fundamental fields of knowledge and the basic concepts and principles
of their disciplines. During the 1998-99 academic year, Oglethorpe enrolled
1,230 students representing 32 states and international students from
31 countries.
For
more information about Oglethorpe University, contact the Office of Public
Relations at (404) 364-8446. For more information about the Truman Scholarship
Foundation, call (202) 395-4831.
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