Source: Jim Hohenbary, 785-532-6904, jimlth@k-state.edu
Photo available. Contact media@k-state.edu or 785-53-6415.
News release prepared by: Kristin Hodges, 785-532-6415, khodges2@k-state.edu

Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010

K-STATE SENIOR FROM McPHERSON IS A FINALIST IN TRUMAN SCHOLARSHIP COMPETITION

MANHATTAN -- Kansas State University's Amy Sents, McPherson, has been named a finalist in the 2010 Harry S. Truman Scholarship competition.

The $30,000 Truman scholarship is awarded each year to as many as 65 students who plan to pursue graduate studies and careers in public service. Scholars are selected primarily on leadership potential and communication skills, intellectual strength and analytical ability, and likelihood of making a difference in public service.

As a finalist, Sents will interview March 8 in Kansas City, Mo.; Truman scholarship winners are announced March 30.

Sents is a senior in animal sciences and industry and pre-veterinary medicine with a minor in international agriculture. She plans to obtain a doctorate of veterinary medicine and master's of public health at K-State. She then would like to work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in Veterinary Services.

"My parents impressed upon me from a young age the need to serve others," Sents said. "Through my activities on the farm and in 4-H and FFA, I developed a true passion for animals. Through safeguarding the health of livestock, I aspire to help make this world a safer place for everyone to live."

At K-State, Sents is vice president and past secretary of Alpha of Clovia and has competed on K-State's meats and horse judging teams and the meat quiz bowl team. She also has participated in the animal sciences and industry Academic Quadrathlon and is a member of University Christian Church. She was awarded a Putnam Scholarship to attend K-State. She will represent Kansas as an international 4-H youth exchange delegate to Germany and Switzerland from June to December. A 2007 graduate of McPherson High School, she is the daughter of Allan and Deanna Sents of McPherson.

K-State ranks first in the nation among 500 state universities with 31 students winning Truman scholarships since the program began in 1977. In 1996, the Truman Foundation named K-State a Truman Scholar Honor Institution. K-State was among the inaugural group of 17 schools, which were chosen from the more than 450 colleges that have produced Truman scholars, to receive this title.