A 内布拉斯加州卫斯理大学 junior has been awarded one of the nation’s highest academic honors.
来自内布拉斯加州约翰逊的政治学专业学生切尔西·约翰逊(切尔西约翰逊)说.他被授予哈利S. 杜鲁门奖学金. Sixty recipients were selected from a pool of 587 national candidates. 她是今年内布拉斯加州唯一的杜鲁门奖学金获得者.
学者是根据领导潜力选拔的, 知识的能力, 以及改变世界的可能性. 该奖学金提供3万美元用于研究生学习. Scholars receive priority admission and supplemental financial aid at premier graduate institutions, leadership training and special internship opportunities within the federal government.
Johnson’s interest is in public policy and advocacy relating to energy and the environment.
“我上大学时计划主修艺术和商业, 希望有一天能开自己的画廊,约翰逊在杜鲁门奖学金申请中写道. 但一到内布拉斯加州的首府, 我对政治事件的冷漠变成了行动主义, which I will forever more channel into demanding positive change.”
Her newfound interest was sparked by a liberal art seminar titled, “我们就是我们一直在等待的人。,这是她大学生涯的第一学期拍摄的.
Led by the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and English professor Kathy Wolfe, Johnson immersed herself in the class that both challenged her and forced her to think outside her comfort zone. She learned how human actions ultimately determine our own fate and those of future generations.
“It challenged me by demonstrating the mindset that allows for humans to live unsustainably — a mindset I possessed,约翰逊说. “It also forced me to reconcile my farm girl roots with the fact that agriculture is not always a positive thing, 如果不以可持续的方式进行，实际上是有害的.”
Since taking the class, Johnson has been an advocate for sustainable practices. 她在Repower America和Bold Nebraska实习. She helped introduce legislation to Nebraska Wesleyan’s Student Affairs Senate that called for opposition to TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline route through Nebraska. The legislation passed unanimously and marked the first time the University’s student senate took a public stance on a national issue. Johnson took the passed resolution one step further and led a handful of her peers to the state capital where they met with the governor’s policy analyst on the issue.
除了她的宣传工作, 约翰逊积极参与全球服务学习, 年轻的民主党人, 学生事务委员会和威拉德姐妹会. 她也是多个学术荣誉的成员.
Last year she studied abroad in South Africa where she also served a small, 人手不足、资源不足的信用社. 有一些银行工作经验, 约翰逊认为她有能力提供一些专业知识, but soon learned that her American banking skill set was not directly applicable to the credit union that served one of the most impoverished populations in South Africa.
约翰逊没有沮丧，而是把它变成了一个机会. She became a confidant to the credit union’s director and found ways to be of value and assistance despite her limitations. 她分享了她对美国银行体系的了解, and along with the director discussed ways to better serve clients including workshops to teach them how to budget and save.
“在我以前所有的志愿者经历中, the emphasis had always been on what I could do for whom I was serving,”她说。. “Serving isn’t about what I can do for someone; it is about what I can do with someone. 这是一个不断学习的过程.”
Johnson is considering graduate school at Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs where she wants to earn a master’s of public affairs degree with concentration in sustainability and sustainable development.
她目前在华盛顿特区学习.C. through the University’s Capitol Hill Internship Program (CHIP) and interning at the National Conference of State Legislatures, 国际项目部.
Johnson is the fourth NWU student to win a 杜鲁门奖学金 in the past seven years.