During her sophomore year at Saint Louis University, junior Lauren Hashiguchi received an email from the Honors Department that described to her different post-undergraduate scholarship opportunities. Currently, Hashiguchi is a 2010 Truman Scholarship Recipient.

The Truman Scholarship provides $30,000 to students pursuing graduate school, as well as the opportunity to spend a year in Washington DC, working with the government agency of the student’s choice. Students apply to apply for the scholarship, must be endorsed by their university and must undergo an interview in their home region of states.

“[The interview] is very intense, very aggressive, but very good,” Hashiguchi said.
In the end, out of the approximate 570 candidates allowed to apply for the actual scholarship, 60 recipients are selected.

One of the main things that the selection committee looks for in an applicant is an extensive background in leadership, and Hashiguchi is the leading force behind OneWorld Magazine.

Furthermore, with a bond formed through in-country laboratory work, Hashiguchi began the Task Force for Haiti almost immediately after the impoverished nation was struck by a devastating earthquake in January.

Hashiguchi, an Investigative Medical Sciences major at SLU, plans to utilize the privileges that come with the scholarship. After graduating from SLU, she plans to acquire an internship in Washington DC, working with the government in the area of global health. After that, she plans to attend graduate school, and aims to eventually work with global governments in healthcare.

Hashiguchi has devoted her college experience to social justice and advocacy. Though the scholarship committees of the Truman Scholarship and other prestigious graduate-level scholarships look at academic records, Hashiguchi also stresses the scholarship’s emphasis on leadership.

“Go into something and expect to be a leader at some point…you have to go into [organizations] and try to find the big stuff,” she said.