Alma College junior Julie Bolitho of Cadillac has earned a 2005 Truman Scholarship. Elected on the basis of the likelihood of making a difference, leadership potential and intellectual ability, Bolitho received one of 75 awards worth $30,000 each.
Alma College junior Julie Bolitho of Cadillac.
The 75 scholars were selected from among 602 candidates nominated by 299 colleges and universities. Each selection panel interviewed finalists from a three- or four-state region and generally elected one scholar from each state and one or two at-large Scholars from the region, according to a Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation press release. Each panel typically included a university president, a federal judge, a distinguished public servant, and a past Truman Scholarship winner.
Bolitho and Amy Willey of Clinton Township were Alma College finalists for the scholarship this year. Bolitho, an English major, intends to pursue a master’s degree in English with an emphasis on African studies to improve literacy programs in both Africa and the United States.
Her strong interest in global service led to several research excursions, including AIDS research in Tanzania in 2003 and an internship in New York at the United States Mission to the United Nations in the Research Section in 2004. She plans to visit Ghana to work on a literacy program there and the Ukraine to help with Alma students Forgotten Children of Eastern Europe orphanage project.
In February 2004, Bolitho was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. As of January 2005, after treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and University of Michigan, her cancer has been declared in remission. Due in part to Bolitho’s personal experience, Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity and Nicole Lowis recruited Julie to help with Alma’s first and the country’s first small liberal arts college Relay for Life Walkathon.
Lowis and Bolitho co-chaired the event this year and raised over $22,000 for American Cancer Society (ACS) research, ACS summer camp for children with cancer, and patients and families affected by cancer. ACS is sending Bolitho to Dallas to take part in a seminar that focuses on methods of sustaining the Relays for the following years.
Bolitho is the Class of 2006 president and representative to Student Congress. She is the World Health Organization representative for Alma’s award-winning Model UN team.
The Truman Scholarship provides $30,000 for graduate study. Scholars also receive priority admission and supplemental financial aid at some premier graduate institutions, leadership training, career and graduate school counseling, and special internship opportunities within the federal government. Recipients must be U.S. citizens, have outstanding leadership potential and communication skills, be in the top quarter of their class, and be committed to careers in government or the not-for-profit sector.
Alma’s Nationally Competitive Scholarship Committee helped Bolitho and Willey search for appropriate postgraduate scholarships and reviewed their proposals and applications. The committee identifies and nurtures exceptional candidates for nationally competitive scholarships, grants and awards.
