Three Harvard Students Win $20,000 Truman Scholarships

Three Harvard sophomores was Truman Scholarships for their commitment to public service, the Harry 8 Truman Scholarship Foundation announced last week.

John. E. Engalmayer '86 of Lowell House and New York, NY; Laura E. Gomez '86 of Quincy House and Albuqusrque, NM; and Brian C.W. Palmer '86 of Quincy House and Brooklyn. NY will each receive $5000 a year for the next four years to support their education.

Congress created the foundation in 1977 with a $30 million memorial trust fund in honor of President Harry S. Truman.

The foundation awarded 105 scholarships this year, the largest number ever, for which 45 Harvard students applied.

"I was truly shocked and surprised when I heard," Palmer said yesterday. "I really couldn't understand it till my sister explained, it to me over the phone."

Palmer hopes to attend the Kennedy School of Government and then go on to a career of "grass roots activism."

He is a Social Studies concentrator and traces his interest in social change to his Quaker background, his studies of Gandhi in India and his work last summer with Ralph Nader.

Both Engelmayer and Gomez are Crimson editors. Engelmayer is a Government concentrator, and Gomez is in the Social Studies program.

Applications for the scholarship must be sophomores and have the nomination of their House of department. A Harvard committee narrows the field to four candidates on the basis of their academic record and commitment to public service.

The foundation's 13 regional committees then conduct further interviews and choose winners from each of the 50 states.

President Truman's daughter, Margaret Truman Daniel, will formally present the scholarships to the winners at the Truman Library in Independence. Mo, on May 13.