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Nate Parker ’08, a biology major from Milford, N.H., has been selected as a finalist in the 2007 Harry S. Truman Scholarship competition.
Committed to encouraging future “change agents” of America, the Truman Scholarship Foundation provides up to $30,000 in funding to students pursuing graduate degrees in public service fields. Each year hundreds of college juniors compete for roughly 80 awards. Finalists are selected on the basis of the extent and quality of their community service and government involvement, leadership record, academic performance and writing and analytical skills, and suitability of their proposed program of study for a career in public service.
Parker is one of 200 finalists representing 129 U.S. colleges and universities. He is scheduled to be interviewed by a regional Truman selection panel next month. Regional panels will conduct interviews with finalists in locations around the country March 5-16 and will select Truman Scholars largely on the basis of leadership potential and communication skills, intellectual strength and analytical ability, and likelihood of making a difference in public service.
For information on applying for scholarships and fellowships, contact Julia A. Goldberg, associate dean of studies, (610) 330-5521. See a list of recent Lafayette recipients of national and international scholarships and fellowships for undergraduate and post-graduate study.
Currently studying in Kenya, Parker, a Trustee Scholarship recipient, did EXCEL research with Laurie Caslake, associate professor of biology.
He directed Lafayette students’ work with Habitat for Humanity during the Landis Community Outreach Center’s pre-orientation service program in August and was the organizer of campus activities marking Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week Nov. 10-17
Last March he was co-organizer of the fourth annual Lafapalooza community service weekend and did community service in Gallup, N.Mex., with the Alternative School Break Club. In May, the Philadelphia office of Best Buddies International recognized him as Outstanding College Buddy Director of the Year.
“I’m very honored to receive the award, because I have so much respect for the program and what it aims to accomplish,” Parker said. “People with intellectual disabilities are highly disadvantaged in our society, so I’m glad I can help provide buddies in greater Easton with opportunities they wouldn’t normally have.”
The 2007 Truman Scholars will be announced March 27. Last year 75 students representing 63 schools were selected as Truman Scholars out of 598 candidates nominated by 311 institutions. The foundation is governed by a board of trustees appointed by the President and Congress and endowed by a special trust fund in the U.S. Treasury.