UNC junior awarded Truman scholarship

For junior Matt Garza there are two options. There's the solve-the-world's-problems research-focused track and there's the solve-the-world's-problems management-focused track.

Either way he's looking to make a difference and he just got a powerful tool to do so.

Garza an economics major and Morehead-Cain Scholar is one of 60 college juniors nationally to receive the Truman Scholarship one of the country's most prestigious graduate awards. The scholarship funds up to $30"000 of graduate studies toward a public-service related degree.

""The decision I'm trying to make right now is where I can really have an impact after college"" he said.

With the award, Garza sees two options. The first would be a doctoral degree in economics, which he would use to research solutions to major problems, such as poverty.

The second path would be a master's in public administration or business administration, through which he would hope to help lead a nonprofit organization or governmental agency.

To help figure out which track, he's got at least a semester of school left, and he said he plans to work for a few years before pursuing graduate studies.

Garza's involvement at UNC is reflective of his commitment to public service. He has worked with Students for Students International, a nonprofit organization that funds scholarships for young women in Tanzania to attend secondary school, since he was a first-year. He is the group's executive director this year.

Matt's greatest strength is the ability to step back and examine a situation holistically"" said Emily Joy Rothchild, the group's director of operations, who has worked with Garza for three years.

He doesn't focus on problems. He's not a problem person. He's a solution maker.""

For Garza" who attended an elite private high school in Massachusetts and had offers from several Ivy League schools" the decision to come to UNC is one that surprised many of his friends here.

""He could have constrained himself to the top echelon" but he chose not to" said friend and roommate Emre Cilem. I'm so impressed by that.""

But Garza said UNC has allowed him to follow a path that many schools would not provide.

Before coming to Carolina" he took a year off to work on public health projects in Mexico and Paraguay among other things which he said helped focus his studies.

He also withdrew for a semester in 2007 to study Arabic in Cairo spending 20 to 30 hours a week in language class.

These two experiences put Garza almost two years older than most of his peers something his friends like to joke about.

But for Garza the UNC atmosphere — which allows students to pursue uncommon paths such as his own — has been one that has inspired him to succeed.



Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.