Truman and Barlow finalists announced

AMY WILLEY

Staff Writer

This past week Alma College students learned the names of the three Student Barlow Award finalists as well as the fact that a record three Alma College students are finalists for the nationally competitive Truman Scholarship.

The Barlow Trophy is the Alma’s most prestigious annual award given to an outstanding graduating senior. The senior must be in the top 10% of the class, and must submit an application along with two letters of recommendation to the Academic Standards Committee for review. From these the Academic Standards Committee selects three finalists.

This year, 36 students were eligible, 16 sent back their applications, and the finalists are Jennifer Hoornstra, Jessica Karbowski, and Timothy Throm.

According to Tim Keeton, assistant professor of biology and chair of the academic standards committee, the committee uses the criteria described by Dr. Joel Barlow, the creator of the award, including academic prowess, and an active role on campus to promote campus life. However, Keeton stresses, “Its not just a matter of being an officer in a club, it’s a matter of taking a leadership role on campus.”

This Monday, by a secret ballot, the Student Congress voted on the recipient, and the result will be announced at Honors Day, April 1, 2004.

The Truman scholarship is one of the most prestigious nationally competitive scholarships in the US. The award is a $30,000 scholarship to help with the expenses of graduate school for students planning to go into some form of public service. According to the Truman guidelines, students are chosen “On the basis of leadership potential, intellectual ability, and likelihood of ‘making a difference.’”

There are 221 Truman Scholar finalists from 148 colleges (each college can nominate a maximum of four students) and 75 of are chosen as Truman Scholars. From the state of Michigan there are six finalists, three of whom are from Alma College. These three finalists are Kelli Bissett (05), Stacey Kowal (04), and Taylor Heins (05).

Bissett is a Foreign Service and Spanish double major interested in pursuing a career in the Foreign Service in the area of international political economy and Latin American affairs. Of the Truman application process she explains, “The Alma College Nationally Competitive Scholarship Committee really helps students prepare for the application process,” she says, “The interviews are adversarial, even hostile, and are basically to see if you can think on your feet and work under stress.” The three students worked together throughout the process in order, often debating about current events to make the preparation more efficient. “Its an honor to work with both Taylor and Stacie who are such gifted and dedicated individuals, and the faculty contributed an enormous amount of time to the interviews,” she says.

Kowal is a Math major who intends to pursue a career in public health and the environment. When asked about the Truman, she says, “Its an extremely wonderful opportunity that I wouldn’t have had if I didn’t come to Alma College; if it wasn’t for the professors and research opportunities I’ve had, I wouldn’t be where I am now.” Kowal says, “Just having this opportunity is something I will be proud of for the rest of my life.” Heins, a foreign service major is interested in pursuing a career in the State Department working to protect endangered species.

According to Heins, “The Truman process has been an opportunity for me to define what’s important to me,” she says, “It has also been an amazing opportunity for me to work with two remarkable and inspirational women.”

This is the first time Alma has ever had three Truman finalists. In the past five years there have been two winners and seven finalists, and, according to Derick “Sandy” Hulme, assistant professor of political science this is “one of the best records of any institution of our type in terms of performance for the Truman during these five years,” he says. “We have never nominated a student who hasn’t been selected as a finalist.” Of this years finalists he says, “This is an exceptional group of students and the fact that three have been selected indicates that they are among the elite in the junior class in the US.”

In the next two weeks the finalists are interviewed and will find out in the end of March who wins. The winners will be posted on the web at www.truman.gov April 1, 2004.

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