Kurt Herzer and Sonia Sarkar, both juniors on the
Homewood campus, are among 65 students
from 55 U.S. colleges and universities to be named 2008
Truman Scholars. The prestigious award is
given each year by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship
Foundation to extraordinary juniors committed to
careers in public service.
The award will provide up to $30,000 each for graduate
study and eligibility for priority
admission and supplemental financial aid at premier
graduate institutions. Truman Scholars also
receive leadership training, career and graduate school
counseling, and access to special internship
opportunities within the federal government.
In addition, Johns Hopkins was named a 2008 Truman
Foundation Honor Institution for its
promotion of the value of public service and for its large
number of Truman Scholars — 12 Johns
Hopkins undergraduates have earned the honor since 1984.
The honor institution designation (also
awarded to Oberlin College) will increase the visibility of
Johns Hopkins programs among 2009 Truman
Scholar applicants, and a plaque will be placed on the
Homewood campus.
"I am astonished by this great honor to Johns Hopkins
and grateful to the foundation and
Secretary Albright," said John Bader, the university's
national scholarship adviser, referring to the
former secretary of state who heads the foundation. "I have
been thrilled to see our students win the
scholarship four years in a row, but it never occurred to
me that such success might result in such
recognition for the university." Bader is also associate
dean for academic
programs and advising in the
Krieger School of Arts and Sciences.
Kurt Herzer
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Truman Scholars are chosen by judges looking for
leadership potential, intellectual ability and
the likelihood that a candidate will make a difference in
the world. They must be U.S. citizens, have
outstanding communication skills and be in the top quarter
of their classes. The foundation was
established by Congress in 1975 as the federal memorial to
America's 33rd president. This year's
winners will meet May 13 for a 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 18.
Through the university's Woodrow Wilson Research
Fellowship, Herzer, 21, has studied health
care quality and patient safety both nationally and
internationally, traveling to the United Kingdom to
work with patient safety leaders there. He is also working
on a multinational infection control and hand
hygiene campaign with the World Health Organization. In the
School of Medicine's
Department of
Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Herzer works
with Lynette Mark on a number of
perioperative safety initiatives centered in the Weinberg
Operating Rooms. Herzer hopes to pursue
both medical and research degrees.
"I have learned that while the solutions posed by some
policy theorists are scientifically
elegant, they sometimes lack 'bedside reality,'" Herzer
wrote in his application essay for the Truman.
"By actively practicing medicine and studying health
policy, my goal is to develop solutions that are
both scientifically sound and clinically feasible, from
policy to patient."
Legally blind from birth, Herzer says that being told
as a child that his visual disability could
limit him compelled him to create his own opportunities.
Rather than be discouraged, Herzer
volunteered to teach computer skills to younger legally
blind children and has become an advocate for
better academic accommodations for students with
disabilities. Herzer has served on the
universitywide
Diversity Leadership Council, reflecting his interest
in diversity issues and students
with disabilities, and he was chosen to represent his
undergraduate peers on the committee recently
formed to select the next president of the university.
Sonia Sarkar
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Sarkar, 19, is the campus coordinator for Project
HEALTH, a national nonprofit organization
that mobilizes college students to break the link between
poverty and poor health. In that role, she
has helped support more than 450 Baltimore families by
connecting them to health and housing
resources within the city. Sarkar's experiences with the
group have led to her decision to pursue
graduate studies in law and public health to gain a better
understanding of the intersection between
health and housing policy.
"The intricate systems of housing agencies and health
policies that I have encountered through
my interactions with inner-city Baltimore families often
demand a strong understanding of legal
implications and language," Sarkar wrote in her application
for the Truman. "Although my experience
as a community advocate at the grassroots level has been
very fulfilling, a deeper understanding of
public health and housing law is vital to my desire to
enact change on a broader level."
Among the many awards and accolades Herzer and Sarkar
have earned, both were named to
USA Today's All-USA College Academic Team earlier
this year; Herzer was named to the first team
and Sarkar was an honorable mention.