Petal native and 2016 Presbyterian Christian graduate Alicia D. Brown is one of two students in the state interviewing for the prestigious Harry S. Truman Scholarship.
Brown, a Mississippi State student, was in Nashville Tuesday night attending the pre-interview dinner where the finalists from across the country had a chance to meet one another.
The daughter of Nathan and Melissa Brown, she is currently an engineering major in the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering’s Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering. Her minor is political science. At MSU, she serves as vice president of the MSU speech and debate council and is a presidential scholar and Montgomery leadership fellow.
Brown applied for the scholarship. She explained that each university can nominate four students, so first she competed on campus to be one of the four. Then she was named a finalist, 1 of 199 from across the country.
The other state finalist, also from MSU, is Marisa G. Laudadio of Walnut. She and Brown were roommates their freshman year.
“So we are very good friends,” Brown said in an interview from the Music City.
“I was surprised to be selected. While I was very proud of my application when I submitted it, I knew that the theme of my proposal was very different than most applications they receive, and I felt like that would either hurt my chances or set me apart.”
It obviously worked.
Her issue of interest is energy policy, and her specific proposal is to expedite the transition to cleaner energy sources (and support those that already exist like nuclear) through a carbon tax.
On Wednesday, she will meet with an interview committee.
“I don’t prepare for the interview beyond general interview prep, so I won’t know the questions ahead of time,” Brown said.
Administered each year by the Washington, D.C.-based Truman Scholarship Foundation, the Truman Scholarship provides $30,000 in graduate-study expenses for 55 to 65 students committed to public service after completing their degrees.
As for graduate school, Brown plans to pursue a Juris Doctor.
“While I wrote about U. Penn Law in my application, my choice will really be contingent upon where I am ultimately accepted and where funding becomes available,” she said. “However, I do know that I want to go to a top 15 law school, if possible.”
Brown is not the only former Petal resident to be named a Truman Scholar finalist. Last year, University of Southern Mississippi junior Jack Hoda, an English major from Petal, also received the honor.
Tommy Anderson, honors college associate dean for undergraduate academic affairs and director of the Office of Prestigious External Scholarships, said MSU and the Shackouls Honors College are proud to be represented this year by two Truman Finalists who exhibit “remarkable leadership and commitment to service.”
“Alicia and Marisa think beyond the boundaries of a single major to begin to solve problems, such as climate change, immigration reform, foster care and adoption reform, and children’s rights. Both student leaders believe that democracy is strong enough to tackle these critical concerns and have chosen to be part of the solution in the future,” said Anderson, who also serves as an English professor and the College of Arts and Sciences’ interim assistant dean for undergraduate academic affairs.
“Alicia and Marisa are inspiring women who have made Mississippi State and the state of Mississippi stronger in how it serves students and residents,” he added.
The highly coveted award honors the nation’s 33rd president. This year the foundation received 840 applications from 346 colleges and universities.
Students were selected based on their records of leadership, public service and academic achievement. The Finalist Selection Committee selected the 199 candidates from 143 colleges and universities. Students are being interviewed by the Foundation's Regional Review Panels between March 1 and April 5. The 2019 Class of Truman Scholars will be announced by 8 p.m. April 17.
