Two Yale student leaders in public service as Truman Scholars
Yale juniors Alie Brussel Faria and Eli Sabin are among 62 college students nationwide selected as 2021 Truman Scholars. The scholarship is the premiere graduate scholarship for aspiring public service leaders in the United States. It provides funding for graduate studies, leadership training, career counseling, and special internship and fellowship opportunities within the federal government.
Faria and Sabin were selected from 845 candidates nominated by 328 colleges and universities — a record number of applicants. Truman Scholars are chosen for their outstanding leadership potential, a commitment to a career in government or the nonprofit sector, and academic excellence. The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation was created by Congress in 1975 to be the nation’s living memorial to the 33rd U.S. president. The foundation has a mission to support and inspire the next generation of public service leaders. The Truman award has become one of the most prestigious national scholarships in the United States.
Faria is committed to combatting health disparities and improving access to healthcare. She is majoring in ethnicity, race, and migration while concurrently completing pre-med studies. She has participated in numerous health equity research projects, including interning at the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health with the White Mountain Apache community and with the Yale School of Medicine’s Equity Research and Innovation Center. She is also a named author on a study that evaluated psychotherapy services for Native American communities. Additionally, she provides healthcare as a certified Emergency Medical Technician and COVID-19 vaccinator for Yale’s distribution program. In Spring 2020, Faria volunteered in the emergency department and intensive care units at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens, assisting with the response to the first surge of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. She has also brought attention to public health issues on a national scale as an organizer of the Women’s March Youth Empower’s Enough! National School Walkout. Faria intends to pursue an M.D. and is dedicated to crafting healthcare policy founded in patients’ lived experiences and public health research.
Sabin studies political science, with a focus on urban politics, poverty, and inequality. He grew up in New Haven, and won a seat on New Haven’s city council, the Board of Alders, during his sophomore year at Yale. He has also served as the director of the Progressive Caucus in the Connecticut General Assembly for the past two years. In both of these roles and in his studies at Yale, Sabin focuses on finding and implementing solutions to poverty, homelessness, gun violence, and unemployment in New Haven and in similar communities in Connecticut and around the country. After college, he intends to pursue a J.D. so that he can better represent and advocate for low-income families.
Annually, candidates for the Truman Scholarship go through a rigorous, multi-stage selection process. The 62 new Truman Scholars were recommended by 17 independent selection panels based on their academic success and leadership accomplishments, as well as their likelihood of becoming public service leaders. Regional selection panels met virtually and included distinguished civic leaders, elected officials, university presidents, federal judges, and past Truman Scholarship winners.
“I am delighted for Alie and Eli, and so pleased that the Truman Foundation is recognizing their record of leadership and deep commitment to public service with this award,” said Lindsay Lawton, senior associate director of the Office of Fellowships & Funding and Yale’s Truman Scholarship representative. “I am inspired every year to work with so many students dedicated to careers in government or the public sector, and who choose to pursue this award because of that dedication.”
Students interested in the Truman scholarship should consult with Lawton at [email protected]. The annual process for juniors opens every September with deadlines in mid-November. For more information about the Truman scholarship, visit the Truman Foundation website.