USC students named Truman Scholar Finalists

Regina “Sierra” Carter and Asma Jaber, juniors at the University of South Carolina, have just been named Truman Scholar Finalists. Highly competitive and prestigious, the Truman Scholarship is awarded to approximately 75 juniors nationally for superior academic ability, a strong record of service and leadership and plans for careers in public service.

Only four students from each institution of higher education may be nominated. Both women are members of the South Carolina Honors College and will interview in Atlanta on March 5 for this $30,000 scholarship. For the complete list of Truman Scholar Finalists go to click here.

Carter, a Gates Millennium Scholar, Ronald E. McNair Scholar and USC Opportunity Scholar, is an English major. Her commitment to educational equality and reform is evident in her volunteer work as a youth educator and advocate. On campus she is a member of the Carolina Service Council; a “Garnet & Black” writer and reporter; and has served as a resident adviser, Emerging Student Minority Leader and a Minority Assistance Peer Program counselor. Carter plans to pursue a law degree and a master’s in education to prepare for a career in education policy and management as an advocate for equal education to increase minority enrollment, retention and graduation rates within higher education.

Jaber, a Palmetto Fellows and University Scholar, is a double major in anthropology and international studies. Her passions for helping immigrants and refugees continue to grow as she volunteers at advocacy centers for immigrants and with local Somali refugees. She also helps facilitate refugees' health-care access. On campus she has served in leadership positions with the Muslim Student Association, Professional Society of International Studies, International Students Association and the Residence Hall Association. Jaber plans to pursue a law degree and attain a M.P.H. in health policy to take on public-interest work in the health field and improve the lives of immigrants and refugees.

University of South Carolina Truman candidates are evaluated and nominated by a USC scholarship committee chaired by Professor Shelley Smith in the Department of Sociology. Other members of the University Truman Committee include Steven Burritt (USC 1995 Truman Scholar), George Geckle (English), Don Fowler (Department of Political Science) and Robert Felix (School of Law).

These students were assisted by the University’s Office of Fellowships and Scholar Programs (www.sc.edu/ofsp) which provides advisement and support to students competing for national fellowships. USC has had six Truman Scholars. Recent USC Truman Scholars include Thomas Scott in 2006, Jeremy Wolfe in 2004 and Lara Bratcher in 2003.