Truman Scholars
Andee Baker, a senior from Park City majoring in Agricultural Communication and Psychology, is an MSU student to receive prestigious 2023 Truman Scholarship.
The Harry S. Truman Scholarship is the premier graduate fellowship in the United States for those pursuing careers as public serve leaders.
The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation identifies young people at an important inflection point in their development—when they are college juniors—and recognizes and rewards their commitments to devote themselves to public service.
Trumans are working in the West Wing, sitting on the US Supreme Court, and serving in federal and state legislatures. They are transforming nonprofits, delivering crucial services and organizing for change in local communities.
Truman Scholars are leaders in academia, research, and health care. They can be found in every branch of the Armed Services. Many make a difference beyond the borders of the United States.
Montana State University has produced 9 Truman Scholars since 2010, and 18 since the scholarship's founding. Meet some of our students, and learn more about their experiences below.
9
Number of Truman Scholars MSU has produced since 2010.
18
Number of Truman Scholars MSU has produced since the scholarship's founding.
Meet our Truman Scholars
Andee Baker | 2023
"Baker’s plan for graduate school is to study public health at Emory University in Atlanta. She said unique research at Emory examines rural health care responses in Africa, and she hopes that through studying programs and approaches on an international scale, she can bring new ideas back to Montana."
Hometown: Park City, Montana
Field of Study: Agricultural Communication and Psychology
Brianna Bull Shows | 2020
"Brianna Bull Shows’ award honors her many years of work with Messengers for Health, which has improved health outcomes in her community through her extraordinary outreach efforts and health advocacy."
Hometown: Pryor, Montana
Field of Study: Microbiology
Max Yates | 2020
"Max Yates’ award is a testament to his leadership in establishing a vibrant volunteer tutoring organization that links the MSU Honors College and the American Indian Success Center. The connection has been impactful and transformative for both groups of students."
Hometown: Bozeman, Montana
Field of Study: Biochemistry
Zariah Tolman | 2019
“The Truman will give me a great stepping stone to get into graduate school and help me establish a network of people who are also dedicated to changing the world."
Hometown: Otto, Wyoming
Fields of Study: Cell Biology & Neuroscience, Biochemistry
Haley Cox | 2018
"Cox said the Truman is “completely life changing” and will help her, a first-generation college student, to attend graduate school to study biomedical science policy advocacy, perhaps at Georgetown University. She said would like to work in public policy in Washington, D.C., or Helena with an eventual career in law or medicine."
Hometown: Bozeman, Montana
Fields of Study: Cell Biology & Neuroscience, Liberal Studies
Connor Hoffman | 2018
"Hoffmann said the Truman award will help him access a graduate program in which he will study both a law degree and a doctorate in economics, with an eventual career at the intersection of policymaking and science advocacy. He is particularly interested in how novel, and potentially disruptive technologies like CRISPR, are responsibly and more equitably introduced to society."
Hometown: Boise, Idaho
Fields of Study: Chemical Engineering, Biological Engineering, Directed Interdisciplinary Study
Levi Birky | 2016
"Birky said the Truman was the pinnacle of several life-changing events that he has had since he came to MSU as a first-generation college student. Birky’s father, Randy, owns a logging business in Kalispell and his mother, Gaylene, recently retired from a 30-year career as a travel agent."
Hometown: Kalispell, Montana
Field of Study: Broad field Social Studies Education
Cara Thuringer | 2015
"Thuringer plans to defer her graduate study in a joint program on environment sustainability development at Harvard and Brandeis Universities for a few years while she continues to work “for climate change in a socially, politically and economically thoughtful way. I hope I can do it in Montana. I would hate to leave Montana.” She plans to eventually work for a NGO (non-governmental organization) about climate change."
Hometown: Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Field of Study: Photography
Alexander Patterson | 2015
"Paterson, whose major is in both the colleges of Letters and Science and Agriculture, said he plans to use his Truman Scholarship to earn a master’s degree as well as an LGBTQ health certificate at the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. His future plans to help write policy to end discrimination for the LGBTQ community."
Hometown: Salt Lake City, Utah
Field of Study: Economics
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