Two UT students—senior Eric Dixon and junior Lindsay Lee—are finalists for Truman Scholarships, prestigious national academic awards that provide up to $30,000 for graduate study.
They are among the 199 finalists announced Friday by the Truman Scholarship Foundation. About sixty Truman Scholarship winners will be announced in April after all finalists are interviewed by review panels.
Dixon, of Knoxville, will graduate in December with a quadruple major in philosophy, economics, sociology, and global studies. His interests include issues facing central and southern Appalachia, growing the green economy, and service-learning initiatives. He is vice president of the Honors Council, is involved with the Roosevelt Institute and SPEAK (Students Promoting Environmental Action in Knoxville), and is helping lead a campaign to encourage UT to invest responsibly. He has served in the Student Government Association and has worked for The Daily Beacon. He currently does sustainability policy from a behavioral perspective at the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Dixon is a Baker Scholar and an active member of the Chancellor’s Honors community.
Lee, of Oak Ridge, is a junior studying mathematics, Spanish, and Portuguese. She is the founder and president of Campus Disability Advocates, a group that promotes equality for students with disabilities. She is co-chair of the Academic Affairs Committee in the Student Government Association, and she is currently running for president of the organization. She writes regular columns in The Daily Beacon. Her research involves modeling the population dynamics of managed feral cat colonies. Lee aspires to a public health career where she will work to reduce health care disparities between socioeconomic classes. She is also a Haslam Scholar and an active member of the Chancellor’s Honors community.
The Truman Scholarship Foundation received 629 applications this year. The finalists were chosen based on “outstanding leadership potential, exceptional academic achievement, and (commitment) to careers in government or elsewhere in public service.”
Truman scholars receive priority admissions and supplemental financial aid at premier graduate institutions, leadership training, career and graduate school guidance, and special internship opportunities with the federal government.
For more information about the Truman Scholarship program, visit www.truman.gov.
For more information about applying for the Truman Scholarship and other prestigious national scholarships, contact UT’s Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships at onsf@utk.edu.
—
C O N T A C T :
Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, ablakely@utk.edu)