Two undergraduates were the recent recipients of Truman Scholarships and are slated to receive $30,000 for their future education.
Trinity juniors Elizabeth Falk and Eric Greitens were two of only 70 students in the nation given the highly sought-after fellowship. The award was established to honor President Harry Truman and recognizes outstanding students who plan to pursue careers in public service.
In addition, two other Trinity juniors, Alex Rogers and Logan Smith were recognized as finalists for the award.
Last summer, Falk, who hails from Wilton, Connecticut, worked for North Carolina Legal Services, Inc., a firm that seeks to protect the rights of criminals. She spent time in prisons and detention centers talking to prisoners.
"Hearing their life stories confirmed that I wanted to be a district attorney and a more educated prosecutor," Falk said. "The current prison system is not working."
Greitens, who is from St. Louis, is an Angier B. Duke Scholar and recently was chosen by USA Today as part of the 1995 All-USA-Academic Team. Last summer he worked in Croatia as part of the Project for Unaccompanied Children in Exile. "We spent the summer living and working in two refugee camps in coordination with the Red Cross and United Nations," he said. While he was there he taught English classes and coached a soccer team.
Greitens is majoring in ethics, a self-created, Program II major that combines philosophy, religion, and public policy courses, while Falk is pursuing a double major in English and public policy and will also receive a certificate in women's studies.
"I plan to concentrate in crimes against women. We are supposed to be protected in our house, but a lot of men still see women as their property," she said.
Greitens has not decided where he is going to attend graduate school, but he is planning to obtain a master's degree in public policy. After school he plans to work with non-profit organizations involved in local communities, he said.
Falk said she would like to attend the University of California at Berkeley and plans to obtain a joint degree in law and social work, after which she wishes to pursue a career in public service law.
Falk first heard about the scholarship during her sophomore year when she did a story for The Chronicle about a 1993 Truman award winner, she said.
Each of the winners will receive $3,000 for their senior year at the University, and $27,000 for their graduate education. In addition, they will participate in a leadership week in May, where they will have the opportunity to meet the other winners.
Both students said they were surprised that they were chosen. "The committee is looking for people who believe in themselves and what they are doing. What you want to do is as important as what you have done," Falk said.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.