Princeton University junior Haley White has been awarded a 2011 Truman Scholarship, which provides up to $30,000 for graduate study.
The prestigious award, which was given to 60 students among 602 candidates nationwide, "recognizes college juniors with leadership potential who are committed to careers in government, the nonprofit or advocacy sectors, education or elsewhere in public service," according to the Truman Scholarship Foundation.
White, a native of Chatham, N.J., who is majoring in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, said, "This opportunity would not have been possible without the support of the University and Wilson School. I am extremely grateful for all of the opportunities I have received to explore my passion for public service and develop as a thinker and leader."
Believing that food insecurity is one of the most pressing problems facing society, White plans to use her Truman Scholarship to pursue a career in agricultural development. She has explored that interest through several activities, including developing a project for which she lived with subsistence farmers in Central America, funded by a Dale Summer Award from the University; writing a policy paper this fall titled, "Making Loaves and Fish in the Land of Qat: Food Security in Yemen"; and serving as an intern on a farm in the Wachusett Mountains in Rutland, Mass., for Heifer Project International, a nonprofit organization focused on ending poverty.
She is co-chair of the Pace Council for Civic Values, a student group affiliated with the University's Pace Center for Civic Engagement.
The Truman Scholarship Foundation was established by Congress in 1975 as the federal memorial to the 33rd president. There have been 2,790 Truman Scholars selected since the first awards were made in 1977.
