Senior Jennifer Phillips became the 15th Mississippi State University student in history to receive the Harry S. Truman Scholarship.
The scholarship, founded by Congress in 1975 as a tribute to the 33rd president for whom it was named, is awarded on the basis of public service and leadership. Phillips, an Air Force ROTC member, said the application process was not necessarily difficult but very time-consuming.
“There were a lot of revisions we had to make,” Phillips said. “They ask about your academic accomplishments and what your leadership accomplishments are.”
Phillips added that it is not just about her accomplishments; she also had to submit essays for the scholarship application.
“There are also like seven small essays to write,” Phillips added. “They ask questions like, ‘What do you see yourself doing in five years,’ and then 10 years. Then they ask what good you think a Truman scholarship will do you and things like that.”
Phillips said applicants also had to submit a policy proposal, outlining their solution to a current problem in the United States and obstacles to implementing that solution. She said she wrote her proposal on the international court system.
Phillips said she feels her adviser, Dr. Rick Travis of the MSU political science department, helped her immensely in receiving the scholarship.
“He’s been the person to help me a lot,” Phillips said. “He has allowed me to co-author and present a few papers with him. All of the papers have been on the factors affecting military spending in developing nations.”
Because of the many recipients of this award from MSU, The Truman Foundation named the university a Truman Scholarship Honor Institution in 1998.
Phillips said she plans to graduate in May 2004. She plans to participate in the Air Force navigation training program before attending graduate school. She said she plans on earning her undergraduate and master’s degree from MSU.