Washington, D.C. – Georgetown University student Indra Sen (SFS ’08) was recently named a
2007 Truman Scholar. The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation provides up to $30,000 in funding to college
juniors hoping to pursue graduate degrees in public service fields. Sen is one of 65 students from 56 colleges and universities
selected for this year’s scholarship and is Georgetown's 22nd Truman Scholar.
"I congratulate Indra on this prestigious award,” said Robert L. Gallucci, dean of the Edmund A.
Walsh School of Foreign Service. “His commitment to addressing a range of issues important to immigrants, from education
to civil rights, is timely and relevant to current public policy debates. I am pleased his research will be supported
with this scholarship."
Indra Sen, a culture and politics major in the School of Foreign Service from Chapel Hill, N.C., plans to use the Truman
scholarship to further his study of English language acquisition among Southeast Asian immigrant communities in America. As
someone of both Indian and Chinese heritage, Sen’s research interests have a personal connection. At Georgetown, he
co-founded the group Empowering Young Asian Americans (EYA) to reach out to Asian high school students and encourage them
to explore their history, develop leadership skills, and engage in their communities. The organization is expanding to other
states, including a program in Sen’s home state of North Carolina that will serve Hmong refugee youth.
“In order to empower marginalized Asian American groups, I hope to first build coalitions among Asian ethnic groups
and other racial minorities, and focus my efforts on practical legal responses and improved, feasible public policies,”
Sen wrote in his Truman application.
Sen also serves as co-president of the Asian American Student Association and as program coordinator for Young Leaders
in Education about Diversity (Y-LEAD). Sen has served as a volunteer with Georgetown’s Prison Outreach Program and D.C.
Schools Project, providing English as a Second Language tutoring services to the District’s low-income youth and adults
of immigrant backgrounds. He is also known on campus for his poetic and lyrical skills as songwriter and former lead singer
for the student band, Mordecai. Sen is a 2006 Humanity in Action Fellow and a 2004 CoRAL Network Student Engagement Leadership
Fellow. After graduation, he plans to pursue a joint JD/MPP program with a focus on youth violence, education and civil rights.
Truman Scholars are selected for their leadership potential, intellectual ability and passion for a career in public service.
Each year, more than 600 students apply for the 70-75 scholarships awarded annually. These 600 applications do not include
the number of students who compete on individual campuses for one of four total nominations accepted from each institution.
Scholars are required to work in public service for three of the seven years following completion of their scholarship tenure. Today,
past scholars hold positions in various areas of public service, including government, the non-profit or advocacy sectors
and education.
On May 15, the 2007 class of Truman Scholars will convene at William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo., for a weeklong leadership
development program and official introduction to the Truman community. Truman Scholar Leadership Week is the first of
several programs and services available to the incoming class of scholars.
The U.S. Congress established the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation in 1975 as a federal memorial to President Harry
S. Truman. In addition to academic funding, the foundation assists scholars with assistance with career counseling, internship
placement, graduate school admissions and professional development. For additional information, visit: http://www.truman.gov/index.htm.
About the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
Founded in 1919 to educate students and prepare them for leadership roles in international affairs, the School of Foreign
Service remains committed to intercultural understanding and service in the global arena, ideals held by its founder and first
dean, the Rev. Edmund A. Walsh, S.J. For more information about the School of Foreign Service, visit http://www.georgetown.edu/sfs.
About Georgetown University
Georgetown University is the oldest Catholic and Jesuit university in America, founded in 1789 by Archbishop John Carroll.
Georgetown today is a major student-centered, international, research university offering respected undergraduate, graduate
and professional programs on its three campuses in Washington, DC. For more information about Georgetown University, visit
www.georgetown.edu.
