Tag: Washington University

  • 3 Washington University Students Named Truman Scholarship Finalists

    3 Washington University Students Named Truman Scholarship Finalists

    Logan Flori, Isaac Seiler, and Amelia Letson, juniors at Washington University, have been named finalists for the coveted Truman Scholarship for Public Service, which awards up to $30,000 to students pursuing graduate or professional degrees.

    The students each received one of the University’s five nominations, and they were chosen as three of the 193 finalists from over 800 candidates from across the nation. The application procedure required them to envisage their futures and develop a policy plan to address a subject that they are passionate about. As finalists, the three were flown to various places to meet the other contenders and be questioned.

    Flori, whose application focused on jail incarceration and pretrial detention, stated that her time working in the civil litigation department of St. Louis law firm Arch City Defenders exposed her to the inequities that exist in the correctional system.

    “My first day, I sat down, and they said, ‘Can you check this video footage?’ I was simply seeing a bunch of guys get beaten. “I went home and cried that day,” Flori explained. “I just started to develop a passion for the general goal of seeing incarcerated people as people rather than the dehumanized labels of ‘criminal,’ ‘inmate,’ ‘offender,’ that they are usually labeled with —especially pretrial detainees who are not necessarily even guilty of the crime they’ve committed yet.”

    Seiler, who attended Calvin University for two years before transferring, focused his application on tax enforcement for religious non-profit organizations. Seiler opted to quit Calvin after a professor was dismissed for officiating a same-sex wedding, and he took a year off to supervise digital operations for a congressional campaign, eventually becoming the youngest person to serve as Director of Communications on Capitol Hill.

    Seiler stated that his experience at his old school, a religious 501(c)3 institution, influenced his policy proposal.

    “When the University began to participate in discriminatory activity, like firing faculty for supporting LGBTQ+ students, I began to think about the role that religious nonprofits play in the U.S.,” he stated.

    He stated that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) now conducts just a small number of inquiries into the country’s 1.4 million religious 501(c)3s.

    “That needs to change,” Seiler stated. “My policy proposal is, I believe, the first step in the right direction; it closes enforcement loopholes for organizations already breaking U.S. tax law.”

    Letson’s proposal offered a new inclusive trauma-informed sex education program for Missouri public schools, which was consistent with her overall focus in reproductive rights. Letson, co-president of WashU’s Planned Parenthood Generation Action and an intern at Abortion Action in Missouri, said her public service work is focused on the communities she serves.

    “The most essential thing for me was to get off campus and truly engage with the St. Louis community. Working with [Abortion Action] made me feel like I was a part of St. Louis and lived there rather than just at WashU,” Letson said. “A lot of people are like, ‘Oh, I’m in St. Louis for four years,’ but I was like, ‘I’m living in St. Louis right now.’”

    Flori, Seiler, and Letson have heard Assistant Dean of Advising Brooke Taylor state, “the prize is in the process.” Taylor, who advises students interested in applying for external scholarships, said she emphasized on this message while working with them to ensure they understood the personal benefits of going through an application process like this one.

    All three finalists have realized the reality of this remark, with Flori stating that the application accelerated the process of developing a plan for her life after college.

    “They kind of pose it as a thought experiment; they make you pick a grad school that you want to go to; they make you pick exactly what you’re going to do after that grad school; they make you say what your dream job is,” Florida said. “They recognize that even if that doesn’t play out, it’s really valuable to see how candidates think.”

    Taylor explained that completing this practice far before graduation allows students to break down their dreams step by step.

    “The Truman asks you to not just imagine it but to really follow the path of, ‘If this is my ultimate goal, what are the concrete steps I would have to do to get there,’” Taylor went on to say. “Doing that in your junior year, whether or not they ended up becoming a finalist, empowers them.”

    This technique helped Letson identify the aspects of a future in public policy that are most important to her.

    “I knew I was really passionate about reproductive rights, but it helped me think a little bit more clearly about what that might look like for me in the future in terms of pursuing a career in public policy,” said Letson. “Connecting with my community and engaging with grassroots organizations has been extremely influential for me during my time at WashU.

    According to Seiler, being a finalist is only a “added side benefit,” with the main merit being the voyage.

    “Through this process, I’ve learnt to talk more about myself. I’ve learnt how to talk about my interests. At this point, obviously, receiving the scholarship would be fantastic, but I feel like I’ve already learned so much from the process,” Seiler said.

    Taylor believes that the finalists demonstrate intelligence, drive, and leadership, all of which will contribute to their future success, whether or not they are chosen.

    “They are all well-positioned to make significant changes. “That’s part of what makes it so inspiring,” Taylor explained. “Sometimes the political landscape can feel sort of bleak, but working with students like this gives me hope for what could change as the next generation comes into their own.”

    On April 19, the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation will reveal the 55-65 awardees.

  • Washington University’s Michaelides Wins NASA Fellowship for Early-Career Researchers

    Washington University’s Michaelides Wins NASA Fellowship for Early-Career Researchers

    Roger Michaelides, an assistant professor of earth, environmental, and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has received a prestigious NASA Early Career Investigator Fellowship in Earth Science.

    Michaelides will utilize the $300,000 funding over three years to monitor Arctic permafrost, frozen layers of soil that cover roughly one-quarter of the Northern Hemisphere’s territory. That work could yield fresh climatic insights.

    “Arctic permafrost is one of the largest reservoirs of soil carbon anywhere on the planet,” he went on to say. “It also happens to be in a region that is warming faster than almost anywhere else.”
    When permafrost thaws, bacteria break down organic compounds in the soil, releasing greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide. This might accelerate warming in the Arctic and elsewhere.

    The new project will employ Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar deployed from aircraft and satellites, including those launched by the European Space Agency and NASA in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation.

    Michaelides is a faculty fellow at Washington University’s McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences and an associate at the Taylor Geospatial Institute.

  • Washington University Senior Wins Rhodes Scholarship

    Washington University Senior Wins Rhodes Scholarship

    On Friday, senior Tori Harwell was standing in a room full of Rhodes Scholar finalists in Chicago, waiting for the announcement of the two names who would receive the grant. Harwell’s presence in that room required a significant amount of time, energy, and inspiration.

    Harwell, majoring in African and African American Studies and Environmental Analysis, learned about the scholarship via Robyn Hadley, previous Ervin Scholars director and Rhodes Scholar.

    “I think that just kind of sat in the back of my head. Like, ‘This Black woman can do it — there’s potential for me, too,’” Harwell said.

    Then, in the spring of her junior year, Harwell had to request eight reference letters from instructors and mentors, in addition to writing personal and academic statements.

    After that, Harwell needed to be endorsed by Washington University (another application) before officially applying to the national scholarship program.

    Finally, after being designated one of 12 candidates in District 12 (which encompasses Tennessee, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri), Harwell had to find a means to travel to Chicago for one final 20-minute interview. They chose to fly to the destination and then take the train back.

    Harwell’s scholarship honors Cecil Rhodes, the late 19th-century prime minister of the English Cape Colony (now South Africa).

    Rhodes exploited his political position to enact stricter voting regulations and expel many Black citizens from their property. At the end of his life, Rhodes established the Rhodes Scholarship, which enables male learners from current or former British colonies to study at Oxford.

    Harwell, who studied abroad in Cape Town during their junior year, witnessed the “Rhodes Must Fall” campaign, which lobbied for the removal of the Cecil Rhodes statue on the University of Cape Town’s campus in 2015 and continues to raise awareness about institutional racism.

    This Rhodes legacy, however, did not prevent Harwell from pursuing the scholarship. Rather, the complex history surrounding Cecil Rhodes piqued her curiosity.

    “I think that’s what intrigues me,” Harwell remarked. “Many Washington University alumni who were Rhodes Scholars were Black Rhodes Scholars. And I kind of enjoy that subversive tradition.”

    Harwell has often pursued her curiosity. They spent a month in Ghana conducting cocoa growing research before moving to South Africa to study. Over the course of several months, Harwell tracked cocoa from local Ghanaian farmers to the Cadbury Chocolate Company in the United Kingdom. This past summer, they researched at the University of Birmingham, diving into dense primary records regarding Cadbury’s internal history.

    It was on that Friday in Chicago that Harwell discovered she would be traveling back to the UK: this time, for two years at Oxford University. Harwell expressed disbelief when her name was called as a winner. Then she called her father.

    “He was like, ‘Oh, wow, that’s cool,’” Harwell said, imitating his nonchalant response.

    After they wished the other finalists farewell, reality set in.

    “I ended up crying because it just seems so far beyond what both my living family and ancestors would have seen for me,” Harwell said.

    Harwell will fly to Oxford in September to pursue two degrees: one in Nature, Society, and Environmental Governance, and the other in African Studies. Harwell is the 30th winner of Washington University’s scholarship, and the first since 2018.

    Harwell is looking forward to reconnecting with old friends as well as continuing her education. During her summer research in Birmingham, she joined a book club and became acquainted with local jazz performers.

    “I don’t play jazz,” she clarified. “I just like listening to it.”

    Harwell intends to spend most of her time in the area before heading to Oxford. They plan to acquire a job in St. Louis this summer so they may spend more time with their college classmates. Of course, they have New Year’s resolutions to keep. They actually make up an entire bingo board. The goal is not to complete all 25 tasks, but rather to get five-in-a-row bingo.

    To accomplish this, Harwell may learn to surf, spend a month without traveling, invite a stranger to lunch three times, travel around Asia, put on an art display, or approach an underclassman and become friends. And of course, graduate.

    Harwell is unsure about her future after completing her two-year tenure at Oxford. She suggested community-based work.

    “And, hopefully, take a break from school.”