Bores

Smith

Joanna Shawntae Smith '13 and Alexander William Bores '13 have been named Truman scholars by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, president of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. They join 52 scholars who will each receive a $30,000 scholarship to attend graduate school in preparation for careers in public service.

Smith and Bores were selected from a pool of 587 candidates nominated by 292 institutions for their academic and leadership accomplishments and their likelihood of becoming public service leaders. Selection panels included university presidents, elected officials, federal judges and public servants.

Cornell is one of six institutions to have more than one Truman scholar this year.

Smith, a junior who majors in sociology and American studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, is a Mellon Mays fellow, a Telluride scholar and a Cornell Public Service Center scholar. In her hometown of Miami, she founded a parent leadership project to increase parents' engagement in their children's schools. She has interned with the U.S. Department of Education Equity and Excellence Commission and with U.S. Representative Frederica Wilson. Smith plans to earn a law degree as well as a graduate degree in education to continue her work in education reform.

Bores, a junior in the ILR School, is president of Cornell Students Against Sweatshops and co-president of the Cornell branch of the anti-poverty coalition, Half in Ten. He is the student representative to the university's board of trustees, is a Hunter R. Rawlings III Presidential Research Scholar and serves as a vice president of the Cornell Forensics Society. He helped lead the Sweatfree Ithaca Advocacy campaign, which resulted in the city of Ithaca amending its procurement policies to abide by recognized international labor standards. Bores plans to earn a law degree and focus on international labor law.

The Truman Scholarship Foundation was established by Congress in 1975 as the federal memorial to the 33rd president. The foundation awards scholarships for college students to attend graduate school in preparation for careers in government or elsewhere in public service. The foundation is supported by a U.S. Treasury trust fund.