March 27, 2017
Kansas State University student is Truman Scholarship finalist
Submitted by Division of Communications and Marketing
Kansas State University's Garrett Wilkinson, senior in nutritional sciences and microbiology, Hutchinson, is a finalist for the Harry S. Truman Scholarship.
The Truman Scholarship Foundation recognizes college students with exceptional leadership potential who are committed to careers in public service, government or the nonprofit sector. More than 765 students applied for the scholarship and Wilkinson is one of 199 students selected as a finalist. He interviewed in Kansas City on March 13. If awarded, it provides up to $30,000 in financial support for graduate education. The scholarship committee will announce the winners of approximately 60 scholarships nationwide on April 21.
Wilkinson has local, national and international leadership experience and is currently taking classes through Global Campus while he is in eastern and south-central Africa to learn more about healthcare delivery systems in Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi and Rwanda.
As the director of special projects for Open World Cause, Wilkinson helps support educators in Nepal and Kenya, and provides school nutrition programs and access to purified water for the community. He is a teaching assistant for Introduction to Cultural Anthropology and a member of the University Honors Program. In the 2015-2016 academic year, he founded and was president of RESULTS K-State, an organization that teaches others how to lobby and advocate for domestic and international antipoverty policies. He also has worked with the Food Recovery Network at K-State and been a guitarist for the choral program.
Wilkinson is an undergraduate researcher working with Brian Lindshield, associate professor of food, nutrition, dietetics and health, researching the micronutrient bioavailability and protein quality of food aid products. He has researched malnutrition in Nepal, school lunch programs and food availability in Kenya and nutrient quality of fortified-blended foods. He has interned with Partners in Health and plans an upcoming internship with Safe Motherhood 360+.
In addition to being a Truman finalist, Wilkinson has received the College of Human Ecology Hannah Bluemont Scholarship; Marjorie J. and Richard L. D. Morse Family and Community Public Policy Scholarship; Mark Chapman Scholarship; Kansas State University Civic Leadership Scholarship; and the Nancy Landon Kassebaum Scholarship. He also won Kansas State University's SPARK Tank Undergraduate Research Competition.
Wilkinson, a 2014 graduate of Buhler High School, is the son of Victor and Angela Wilkinson, Hutchinson.
To learn more about competing for future Truman Scholarships or other nationally competitive honors while a student at Kansas State University, contact Jim Hohenbary at jimlth@k-state.edu.