A junior at BYU-Hawaii Alisi K. Langi has been selected as a 2004 recipient of the Truman Scholarship award, which totals $27,000 and covers expenses for her senior year at BYU-Hawaii and two years of graduate school.
The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation was established by Congress in 1975 as a federal memorial to the 33rd President of the United States. The foundation finds and recognizes college juniors with exceptional leadership potential who are committed to careers in government, the non-profit or advocacy sectors, education or elsewhere in the public service. More than 2000 Truman Scholars have been elected since the first awards were made in 1977.
Seventy-seven students from 67 U.S. colleges and universities have been selected as 2004 Truman Scholars announced Dr. Madeleine K. Albright, president of the Truman Scholarship Foundation.
Langi, a political science major and Chinese minor who was born and raised in Laie was thrilled with the scholarship. "Winning was a nice surprise, I had been feeling like I probably wasn't going to get it, so when I found out, I was estatic. It really is an honor," she said.
"If you are named a scholar you become a member of the Truman community which is quite a large community with individuals in almost every field in the public sector," she said. "This scholarship also comes with a paid internship in any department of the Federal Bureaucracy that you want. I am planning to intern in the Department of Education, in their Public School Student Achievement Student Accountability program."
Langi, who is of Tongan, Hawaiian and Chinese ancestry is also currently a recipient of the Hoomanao Presidential Scholarship and is heavily involved in other extra-curricular activities in addition to her academics. "Currently, I am the College of Arts and Sciences representative on the Student Advisory Council. I am also a part of the BYU-Hawaii University Ambassadors and political science club," she said.
Due to the competitive nature of the award, Langi explained that the application process took over six months and was a "long drawn out and draining process."
Langi added, "You have to be nominated by the faculty representative for our university, who is (political science professor) Dr. Dale B. Robertson, and you work with that person throughout the process. Each university is allowed to nominate four students."
Aside from completing the application, which details college and high school activities, community service, government participation, essays on future goals and where you want to serve in the public sector, Langi was required to write a policy proposal that addressed a problem in the public sector that she was interested in resolving.
"My particular interest is to work on education reform in Hawaii, so my policy proposal was addressing the possibility of providing Laie Elementary School with a federally funded reading and math program supplementary to their present curriculum," she said.
As part of the application process, Langi flew to San Francisco as one of over 400 finalists to a face a panel of six judges in a face-to-face interview.
"I had a twenty minute oral interview in which challenging and controversial questions were launched at me," Langi said. "I was asked a lot about the Hawaiian sovereignty movements and my policy proposal. Also the unique situation of our university prompted many questions about the separation of church and state."
One of the benefits of being a Truman scholar is priority admission into one of many graduate schools in the nation.
"I have always been interested in attending J. Reuben Clark Law School in Provo, Utah, and doing a joint MSW (masters of social work) and JD program," Langi said. "I am also very interested in the William S. Richardson Law School at the University of Hawaii. I want to study child protection law and also international family law."
The Truman scholars were elected by twenty independent selection panels on the basis of leadership potential, intellectual ability, and likelihood of "making a difference."
"I am so proud that Alisi received this award," said Dr. Dale Robertson. "She deserves it because she thinks deeply about important things and wants to make a difference in the public sector. I hope that her success will inspire other students to come and see me about applying."
The 77 scholars were selected from among 609 candidates nominated by 300 colleges and universities. Each selection panel interviewed finalists from a three-to-four state region and generally elected one scholar from each state and one or two at-large scholars from the region.
The 2004 Truman Scholars will assemble May 16, for a week-long leadership development program at William Jewell College in Liberty, MO, and receive their awards in a special ceremony at the Truman Library in Independence, MO, on May 23.