UNC junior nabs Truman Scholarship

Members of the basketball team aren’t the only students piling up national accolades these days.

On Tuesday, the Harry Truman Scholarship Foundation named UNC junior Lauren McAlee one of 75 Truman Scholars, earning her $30,000 for future studies.

The award is the most prestigious honor available to college juniors throughout the nation, said Nick Didow, chairman of the UNC Truman selection committee.

“It still really hasn’t sunk in,” McAlee said, explaining that when Chancellor James Moeser called her with the news, she thought he was referring to something other than the award.

“I feel very, very lucky for the scholarship and just to have so much support from people on campus who helped me out a lot.”

McAlee, a Robertson Scholar from Crofton, Md., has been active in the Maryland state government and has targeted education reform.

Boasting a 3.96 grade-point average, she is spending this semester establishing a youth advocacy program to diversify activities in the rural community of Mound Bayou, Miss.

The passion McAlee has for public service makes her a testament to the Robertson Scholars program, said Eric Mlyn, director of the program.

“Lauren is really a credit to UNC, to the Robertson program and to everything she’s doing for education in the United States,” he said.

UNC was one of 299 colleges and universities that nominated a total of 602 students for the award.

UNC nominated four students, and McAlee was one of two finalists.

She is UNC’s 28th student to receive the distinction since the scholarship was created in 1977.

“She, like those who came before her, is a wonderful person,” Didow said. “She is genuine and dedicated to improving the life of those around her.

“She continues the strong tradition this campus represents in social and economic justice and providing outstanding Truman applicants.”

McAlee was a voting student member of the Maryland State Board of Education as a senior in high school. It was this experience, she said, that fueled her desire to provoke change.

“I just loved the work I was doing,” she said. “So after that, I was like, ‘I don’t want to leave (the education field).’”

McAlee said she hopes to parlay the scholarship into a career in teaching and public policy to improve the public education system.

“I can’t think of anything that’s more important and that really has more potential to change people’s lives.”

 

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.