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U
of M Senior Named a Truman Scholar
For
release: Mar. 23, 2004
For press information, contact
Curt Guenther
Jessica
Swan has been named a recipient of the prestigious Truman
Scholarship. She is the first University of Memphis student
ever to achieve that honor.
She
was chosen from among 200 finalists from 134 universities
who were competing for the award. One of Swan's fellow finalists,
Amy C. Jackson, was also from the University of Memphis.
A
senior in the U of M's Honors Program, Swan plans to pursue
a master's degree in public policy from Duke University. She
is majoring in sociology and minoring in Spanish and nonprofit
management. She maintains a 4.0 grade point average.
Swan
was named the Outstanding Sophomore of the Year for the University
Honors Program. She has served on the search committee for
the University's Vice Provost of Academic Affairs, on the
Advisory Board for the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences,
and in positions of leadership in several other University
organizations and programs.
Off
campus, she has long been involved in activities of the Catholic
Charities of Memphis, working in soup kitchens, with clothing
drives, with refugees, with Latin American immigrants to Memphis,
and lobbying the state legislature for reform of the TennCare
program to benefit Medicaid-eligible persons.
Swan
envisions a short-term goal of directing a local nonprofit
agency that would serve the Mid-South's burgeoning Latino
population. Ultimately, she would like to work in the public
policy arena at the state or national level to improve the
welfare system for immigrants to this country.
The Truman Scholarship carries a $26,000 award - $2,000 for
a recipient's senior year of undergraduate school and $24,000
for graduate study. Recipients are chosen on the basis of
leadership potential, intellectual ability, and the likelihood
that they can and will "make a difference" to society.
The
program was established by the United States Congress in 1975
as a memorial to Harry S. Truman, the nation's 33rd president.
Awards are made to students who plan careers in government
or in some other form of public service.
Details about the Truman Scholarship are available at Web
page: www.truman.gov.
For
additional information about the University's Honors Program,
please contact Melinda Jones at 678-2690.
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