Two juniors have been named Truman Scholars.
Patrick Oathout and Jacob Tobia are two of 62 students nationwide to win the prestigious scholarship, which includes $30,000 for graduate school and priority admission. Scholars are selected based on their demonstrated leadership, scholarship and commitment to public service and advocacy.
Oathout serves as executive vice president of Duke Student Government and the founder and president of Duke Colloquium Fellows, and is a recipient of the Point Scholarship for leadership as an LGBTQ student. Tobia, a Benjamin N. Duke scholar, serves as president of Blue Devils United and co-president and founder of Duke Students for Gender Neutrality. He is also a Point Scholar.
Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta said the scholarship is a high honor that is well deserved by both Duke recipients.
“It ranks up there with the handful of renowned honors like [the Rhodes Scholarship] and others,” Moneta said. “Patrick and Jacob are destined to be changemakers and change agents for the public good for life. I think it’s a testimony to two young men who put community ahead of themselves. They are so thoughtful, so assertive and so powerful for change.” Tobia said he believes his experience working as a human rights intern for the United Nations likely played a significant role in winning the scholarship. He hopes to use that experience to continue to work for LGBTQ rights. “I’m interested in how we can use the U.N. and other international bodies to fight violence against LGBTQ people around the world,” Tobia said.
Tobia, a human rights advocacy major through Program II, already has experience as an advocate for LGBTQ rights—he spearheaded a joint campus initiative to oppose Amendment One, an amendment to North Carolina’s constitution banning same-sex marriage and civil unions, and worked to secure gender-neutral housing options for students.
Oathout, a columnist for The Chronicle who is majoring in public policy and philosophy, is also an advocate for LGBTQ rights. His prior work focused on resettlement and refugees, particularly those who identify with the LGBTQ community. He has plans to work with the State Department at the Domestic Resettlement/Refugee Admissions desk after he graduates.
Oathout, who has been a member of DSG since his freshman year, noted his consistent commitment to public service on campus despite several failures in terms of elections and legislative battles. He added that he had run for office five time his first year at Duke and even after having lost all those elections, Oathout decided he still wanted to participate in student government.
“You have to be resilient through that failure,” he said. “A lot of my education from Duke doesn’t just come from my classes—it comes from the people I’ve interacted with.”
Steve Nowicki, dean and vice provost for undergraduate education, noted that despite different goals, both Oathout and Tobia share a passion for public service and commitment to social justice—traits essential for a Truman Scholar.
Duke nominated four students this year, Nowicki added. With Oathout and Tobia’s selection into the scholarship program, the University will have had a total of 42 students receive a Truman Scholarship since the program’s inception in 1977.
The scholarship will give Tobia more confidence to express his queerness in public spaces, he said.
“I really think that honors like these help me to be confident in bringing my queerness into any space,” Tobia said. “Being able to say I’m a Truman Scholar makes it easier to walk into board meeting with high heels on and makes it easier for me to be validated as a queer person within spaces of power.”
Oathout also noted the network of individuals available as a Truman Scholar. The community will be essential in the development of his interests and providing constructive feedback on personal character, he added.
“Especially in the next 10 years of my life, I am going to have so many questions,” he said. “And having that network of individuals who can really mentor me through that process is the most important part of the scholarship for me.”
DSG President Alex Swain, who noted that she has worked extensively with both Oathout and Tobia, said their drive and intelligence make them very deserving of the scholarship.
“They both have a commitment to social justice and understanding different perspectives,” Swain, a senior, said. “That will serve them well with their work in the future.”
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