A University of Arkansas at Fayetteville economics student interested in public finance has been named a Truman Scholar.
Cicely Shannon of Texarkana is one of 59 students nationally to receive the honor from the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation.
Recipients are chosen based on academic success, leadership skills and commitment to public service, with the foundation’s goal to have at least one winner from every state. Shannon was the only Arkansas honoree this year, receiving a $30,000 scholarship to be used for graduate studies.
Shannon, a junior in the UA Honors College, is chairman of the Volunteer Action Literacy Program, a student-led initiative to improve reading skills among elementary school students. Volunteers commit to reading with grade school students once a week at local after-school programs. Shannon helped expand the number of volunteers and also started a book program as part of the literacy effort, according to a UA statement.
“The scholarship will help enormously as I head to graduate school,” Shannon said in a statement. Plans include studying public administration and business at Columbia University or Harvard.
Shannon is the 18th UA student to receive the honor.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 14 on 04/18/2014