Four Rhodes College juniors are competing for the 2022 Truman Scholarship, the premier graduate fellowship in the United States for those pursuing careers as public service leaders. They are David Caddle, Walker Coleman, Priscilla Foreman, and Jimmy Mullen.
In 1975, the Truman Scholarship Foundation was established by Congress as a federal memorial to the 33rd president, Harry S. Truman. It provides up to $30,000 to apply toward graduate school. The Truman Scholarship is a highly competitive national award, and recipients must be nominated by their institution, have outstanding leadership potential and communication skills, demonstrate academic excellence, and be committed to careers in government or the nonprofit sector.
David Caddle, an urban studies major from Jackson, MS, is president of the Community Standards Council, which is made up of elected class representatives of the student body, and president of Roots, a Rhodes student organization of the Botanical Society of America. Caddle also is Bonner Scholar, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., and a member of the Rhodes A mock trial team.
Walker Coleman, an international studies major from Cincinnati, OH, has participated in the Mid-South Model United Nations and is president of the Fencing Club and a contributor to Dredge, a new online zine published by students of the Mike Curb Institute for Music at Rhodes. Coleman also has been a studio tech for Rhodes Radio. He was a 2021 Summer Service Fellow.
Priscilla Foreman, a history and media studies major from White Hall, AR, has held internships at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music and Memphis nonprofit City Leadership. Currently, she is a teaching assistant for the Refugee Empowerment Program in Memphis. On campus, Freeman works as a resident advisor, is a member of the Rhodes Honor Council, and serves as communications director of the Rhodes Multicultural Vision Program. She enjoys taking photography in her spare time.
Jimmy Mullen, a political science and an urban studies major from St. Louis, MO, serves on the Rhodes Honor Council and is a Rhodes Diplomat, giving tours to parents and students around campus. He also hosts a podcast called Lynx on Life. Mullen has worked as an intern for the St. Louis Board of Aldermen and currently, he serves the Juvenile Intervention and Faith-Based Follow-up (JIFF) as a Memphis City Grant Fellow.
Past recipients of the Truman Scholarship at Rhodes include Thomas Mitchell ’18, Brooks Lamb ’17, and Frankie Dakin ’14.
Students interested in learning more about the Truman Scholarship application process and other nationally competitive postgraduate scholarships should contact co-directors of post-graduate fellowships at Rhodes, Dr. Esen Kirdis or Dr. Jason Richards.