The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation has announced the names of 62 exceptional college students out of 768 candidates selected as 2017 Truman Scholars. Thomas Mitchell, a political science and educational studies double major from Knoxville, TN, is among those winning a Truman Scholarship.
In 1975, the Truman Scholarship Foundation was established by Congress as a federal memorial to the 33rd President, Harry S. Truman. The Foundation has a mission to select and support the next generation of public service leaders, and the Truman award has become one of the most prestigious national scholarships in the United States. Candidates go through a rigorous, multi-stage selection process.
Mitchell has developed a passion for K-12 education, particularly for the experiences of minority students. As a service scholar in the Bonner Program and a former student director of the Rhodes Kinney Program, he has been involved in campus-wide efforts to engage students in service and leadership. Mitchell currently serves as vice president of Rhodes Student Government and recently was elected president for the 2017-18 academic year. His plans after graduation are to pursue a master’s degree in public policy in education and a juris doctor degree.
“This has been such an incredible experience and I’m very humbled by the foundation's decision,” says Mitchell. “I have very little doubt that most of the credit here goes to my parents, and particularly my mother who has always pushed me to pursue my passions, and the wonderful teachers that I had in K-12. I’m looking forward to meeting the other scholars this summer during the Truman Leadership Week.”
The 2017 Truman Scholars will receive their awards in a ceremony at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum on May 28. Scholars also receive priority admission and supplemental financial aid at some premier graduate institutions, leadership training, career and graduate school counseling, and special internship opportunities within the federal government.