Maile Yeats ’09 has been named a Truman Scholar for the upcoming year and will receive a $30,000 scholarship to attend the graduate program of her choice. Yeats is the sole winner from The Claremont Colleges this year and one of only 65 Truman Scholars nationwide.
The Truman Scholarship Foundation recognizes college juniors with exceptional leadership potential who are committed to careers in government, the nonprofit or advocacy sectors. Yeats, who is majoring in cognitive science, was selected, in part, for her leadership in the ROTC program, administered at Claremont McKenna College. She plans to do graduate study in international development as it applies to defense policy and hopes to eventually work for the undersecretary of policy at the Department of Defense.
Aside from a scholarship, the award also offers a Truman Scholars Leadership Week, where recipients work on writing and presenting policy, attend workshops on graduate admissions and do public service. Scholars have access to a wide network of alumni, preferred admissions at some graduate school and a nine-week internship in Washington, D.C.
Yeats said she is especially grateful for the help and support she received from Scripps. Professor Nancy Neiman-Auerbach and Interim President Fritz Weis staged a mock interview to help prepare her for the real one. “It made me realize how beneficial it is to go to a small liberal arts college like this with such a great sense of community,” she said.