Harry S. Truman Scholarship – UofL News Tue, 21 Apr 2026 21:06:36 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Truman scholars, past and future /post/uofltoday/truman-scholars-past-and-future/ Fri, 15 Sep 2023 13:44:56 +0000 /?p=59176

On a bright spring day in April, the past and the future of public service came together in the courtyard of the Gheens Science Hall & Rauch Planetarium.

Klemmer Nicodemus of Hartford, Kentucky, was there with his parents to celebrate dual honors at a reception for the University of Louisville’s latest recipients of some of the world’s most prestigious scholarships.

The student , also a minor, had won Kentucky’s only 2023 . In the United States, college juniors who hope to go into public service careers compete annually for the prestigious award, worth $30,000. Out of hundreds of applicants, usually just one student in each state wins the award.

Nicodemus, who hopes to spend his career in service as a scientist, became the 15th UofL student to win the award, giving UofL more Truman winners than any Kentucky college or university, public or private. In a rare double-honor, he was also a 2023 winner of the Barry Goldwater Scholarship for U.S. sophomores and juniors pursuing research careers in math, science and engineering.

Cheering him on that day was UofL alumna Dee Allen, who in 1977 made history when she became the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s first Truman Scholarship winner. The political science/literature major even accepted the brand new award directly from Margaret Truman, daughter of Harry and Bess.
Allen, who is retired from and lives in Louisville, said winning the Truman scholarship “changed the trajectory” of her professional life. As part of a family of journalists, Allen said she thought journalism was in her future.
Instead, she used the scholarship ($20,000 at the time) to get a master of public administration/finance degree from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University in 1980 and worked as a budget analyst. “It set me more in the direction of government service,” she said.
She went on to, among other things, work in the Reagan White House in Washington, D.C., and for the Legislative Research Commission in Frankfort, as well as spend a year as an AmeriCorps volunteer tutoring GED students in Cincinnati. She worked for the Metro Louisville Government Finance Department from 2007 to 2016 as the open records coordinator.
Today, as a member of the Women’s Club of UofL, she has gone full circle, helping award scholarships to women working their way through UofL.
]]> Six UofL grads win Fulbrights /post/uofltoday/six-uofl-grads-win-fulbrights/ Tue, 13 Jun 2023 11:00:06 +0000 /?p=58740 A two-time captain of theis among this year’s sixgrantees from the University of Louisville.
The grantees named this spring add to an impressive list of winners. With 168 total since 2001, UofL has had more student Fulbrights than all Kentucky public higher education institutions.
The UofL Fulbright winners were awarded grants to teach English abroad in the Slovak Republic, Spain and Jordan and to do research in Germany and the Netherlands.
The, administered by the Department of State’s Bureau of ֱal and Cultural Affairs, is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program.
“This year’s scholars have earned opportunities here and abroad that will change their lives and help them make a positive difference,” said Bethany Smith, director of UofL’s National & International Scholarships office. “I am so proud of these talented and hard-working young people, and of the way our campus community comes together to support, challenge and mentor these outstanding students.”
The 2023 Fulbright awardees are:
English Teaching Assistantships
, UofL 2022 graduate, to the Slovak Republic. He is from Owensboro, Kentucky.
, of Fort Thomas, Kentucky, and , of Covington, both UofL 2023 graduates, to Spain.
, UofL 2023 graduate, of Louisville, to Jordan, the country from which her family emigrated when she was in sixth grade.
Research
, UofL 2023 graduate, to the Netherlands to pursue a master’s degree in conservation and restoration ecology at Radboud University/Nijmegen. Cicha, two-time captain of the Women’s D1 Rowing team, is from Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
, UofL 2023 graduate, to Germany to develop a novel blood pump for pediatric and adult patients with heart disease at the Rhine-Westphalia Technical University of Aachen. McLellan is from Lexington, Kentucky.
Other prestigious scholars
UofL chemical engineering majorwon two prestigious scholarships for juniors.
He was the 2023 Kentucky recipient of the, the premier graduate scholarship for aspiring public service leaders in the United States. He was also one oftwo UofL juniors to be awarded a Barry Goldwater Scholarshipto pursue a research career in natural science, mathematics or engineering. The other
Goldwater Scholarship winner was School of Nursing studentMadeline Martinez.
Additionally, two UofL students were the first recipients of awards that debuted for 2023.
Afi Tagnedji, a May 2023 graduate in biochemistry, was one of 25 students in the United States awarded the first. The fellowship, which focuses on building a network of the next generation of scientists and technologists, was awarded to 100 students total from the United States, Japan, Australia and India. She was the only fellow from a Kentucky university.
, a political science major, wasone of twoKentucky college students to be named to the inaugural cohort of 100 students who won afrom the Obama Foundation and Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb.
More on these scholars and winners of other prestigious academic scholarships can be found at.
]]> UofL engineering student wins state’s only Truman Scholarship /post/uofltoday/uofl-engineering-student-wins-states-only-truman-scholarship/ Fri, 14 Apr 2023 13:07:47 +0000 /?p=58352 University of Louisville junior Klemmer Nicodemus has won Kentucky’s only for 2023.

The award, valued at $30,000, is given to just 62 U.S. college juniors annually and is the premier graduate scholarship for aspiring public service leaders in the United States. Winners were announced April 12.

Nicodemus, originally from the small rural western Kentucky city of Hartford, is a chemical engineering major in the who is minoring in chemistry. His undergraduate research at UofL and with the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change.

Hoping to bridge the gap between technological advancements and social policy, upon graduation he plans to pursue doctoral studies in chemical engineering and continue his career as a researcher with the DOE. He hopes to transition into policy work as a subject matter expert in his field with an eye toward enabling scientific discoveries to directly serve public needs.

Nicodemus was also one of two UofL students to be awarded a 2023 , which recognizes U.S. sophomores and juniors pursuing research careers in math, science and engineering.

“I am thrilled with the opportunity to represent the University of Louisville and my home state of Kentucky in both of these prestigious organizations,” he said. “It is one thing to be recognized for my accomplishments and potential as a scientist and as a public servant, respectively, but to be able to combine these two passions of mine in such elite venues as the Truman and Goldwater foundations is a dream come true; just the next step in a lifelong journey of service as a scientist.”

Among his many projects at Speed, he worked on the Team Desert Phoenix solar house in 2021 and was part of the 2020 to improve a device commonly used to treat COVID-19 and other patients with respiratory problems.

There were more than 700 applicants for this year’s Truman Scholarship from 275 colleges and universities. This year’s awardees join a community of 3,504 Truman Scholars named since the first awards in 1977. Including Nicodemus, 15 UofL students have been Truman awardees; the last UofL student to win the scholarship was in 2021.

Nicodemus also is one of UofL’s two 2023 Goldwater Scholars. Read more.

]]> UofL junior is Kentucky’s only 2021 Truman Scholar /post/uofltoday/uofl-junior-is-kentuckys-only-2021-truman-scholar/ Thu, 15 Apr 2021 14:19:53 +0000 http://www.uoflnews.com/?p=53131 University of Louisville junior Lexi Raikes has won Kentucky’s only Harry S. Truman Scholarship for 2021.

The award, valued at $30,000, is given to just 62 U.S. college students annually. It is the premier graduate scholarship for aspiring public service leaders in the United States.

The foundation announced the winners April 14.

Raikes, a Campbellsville, Kentucky, native, plans to use the scholarship toward her goal of attending Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., to earn a law degree and a Master’s of Science in Georgetown’s Addiction Policy and Practice program.

“Addiction is one of the most under-addressed and mistreated problems in our society today,” Raikes said. “It has deeply impacted our state, my community and my own family. I hope to dedicate my career in public service to dismantling policies that stand in the way of harm reduction and comprehensive recovery.”

Raikes heard the news during an emotional surprise video call with UofL President Neeli Bendapudi.

“You are the best of the Cardinal Spirit,” Bendapudi said. “You persevered through an extremely challenging year to earn this prestigious scholarship.”

There were more than 800 applicants for this year’s Truman Scholarship from more than 300 colleges and universities.

“Our best students stack up against anybody’s best students,” said Charlie Leonard, who directs UofL’s Office of National and International Scholarship Opportunities. “We hit the jackpot with Lexi, who we know will maximize this opportunity to facilitate positive change in the world.”

Raikes will graduate from UofL in May 2022 with a triple major in English, French and political science. She is executive vice president of the UofL Student Government Association, member of the Engage Lead Serve Board and an intern for the . She is also involved in UofL’s raiseRED student fundraiser for pediatric cancer and blood disease research.

Fourteen UofL students have been Truman Scholars since 1977, the year the national program was launched. The last UofL student to win a Truman Scholar was in 2017.

 

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