UTEP Student Selected for Prestigious Truman Scholarship
The Truman Scholarship is the premier graduate scholarship for aspiring public service leaders.
EL PASO, Texas (Apr. 20, 2023) – Sarah Mickelson, a political science major at The University of Texas at El Paso, has been selected as a 2023 Truman Scholar. The Truman Scholarship is widely regarded as the premier graduate scholarship for aspiring public service leaders in the United States.
“Sarah is so deserving of this award because of her vision, hard work and commitment to serving her community,” said Charles Boehmer, Ph.D., associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and the University's Truman Scholarship Representative. “This is a wonderful accomplishment that reflects highly upon the caliber of our students here at UTEP.”
Born and raised in Soldotna, Alaska, Mickelson is an aspiring public defender who aims to provide strong legal representation for members of her home community. She is currently earning her bachelor’s degree in political science while serving as the Attorney General for the Student Government Association and the Executive Assistant for IGNITE at UTEP, an organization which aims to promote and facilitate women's involvement in law and politics. Following graduation this May, she plans on attending law school and then returning to Alaska to serve as a public defender in Anchorage.
Mickelson, who is also one UTEP’s Top Ten Seniors for Spring 2023, is the University’s first Truman Scholar since 2006, and one of 62 new scholars selected from more than 700 candidates from colleges and universities across the U.S. Awardees were chosen for their academic success and accomplishments, as well as their likelihood for becoming public service leaders.
Each Truman Scholar receives funding for graduate studies, leadership training, career counseling, and special internship and fellowship opportunities within the federal government.
“I applied for the Truman Scholarship because of its support for individuals like me who are dedicated to public service,” Mickelson said. “By applying, I learned a lot about myself and solidified my decision to serve Alaska as a public defender.”
Mickelson added she was very appreciative of the support and encouragement she received throughout the application process from UTEP’s Office of Student Fellowships and Awards.
Mickelson and the rest of this year’s cohort join a community of 3,504 Truman Scholars named since the awards first started in 1977. Congress created the program in 1975 as a living memorial to President Harry S. Truman.
About The University of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso is America’s leading Hispanic-serving university. Located at the westernmost tip of Texas, where three states and two countries converge along the Rio Grande, 84% of our 24,000 students are Hispanic, and half are the first in their families to go to college. UTEP offers 169 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs at the only open-access, top-tier research university in America.
Last Updated on April 20, 2023 at 11:00 AM | Originally published April 20, 2023
By MC Staff UTEP Marketing and Communications
