FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Two University of Arkansas juniors, Julianna Kantner and Grace Stoops, have been selected as finalists for the 2022 Harry S. Truman Scholarship.
According to a press release, Kantner, from Shawnee, Kansas, is majoring in political science and international and global studies in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. Stoops, of Bixby, Oklahoma, is majoring in public health in the College of Education and Health Professions.
The Truman Scholarship application process is one of the country’s most competitive. Students are selected as finalists because of a demonstrated commitment to a career in public service and because they have already been actively engaged in bringing positive change to their own campuses and communities. Given these expectations, it is easy to see why Julianna Kantner and Grace Stoops were selected as finalists. They are both committed to serving others and to making real, lasting differences in their communities, and they will go on to careers that will benefit the public in this state and beyond it.
Terry Martin, Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Truman Scholars are awarded $30,000 in scholarship funds to attend graduate or professional school. The application process requires more than 50 hours to complete.
This year, 705 students from 275 colleges and universities across the nation applied for Truman Scholarships. Finalists demonstrate outstanding leadership, public service, and academic achievement.
Kantner is on a pre-law track with an interest in law and specialty court systems. She is deeply involved in refugee resettlement efforts in Northwest Arkansas, has served as president and vice president of Students with Refugees, and volunteers with non-profits working towards food security and youth mentorship.
For her honors thesis, she is researching volunteer program development in refugee resettlement and launching an advocacy training program for college students to assist the local resettlement agency.
Stoops studies public health with a minor in medical humanities, with a long-term focus on student health education at both secondary and college levels. On campus, she founded Sexual Health Organization and Outreach (SHOO). SHOO provides sex education to U of A students through events, seminars, and guest speakers.
She has also volunteered at The Little Light House, a nonprofit school for disabled children, and is currently a hospitality and management intern at the YMCA of the Rockies. Stoops plans to obtain a Master’s in Public Health with an emphasis in health education and initially work for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
University of Arkansas students who are interested in applying for the Truman Scholarship should contact the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards at awards@uark.edu.
