Recipient’s Blog

Sunny graduated from UCI in 2015 as a magna cum laude graduate having triple majored in Public Health, International Studies, and Anthropology. Sunny was a recipient of the Chancellor’s Award of Distinction and awarded the School of Sciences’ Order of Merit Award....

igenous, and mestiza women whom were victims of intra-familial violence, and also experienced forced displacement, and/or had relatives assassinated by armed groups. During my research I realized the revised 1991 Constitution of Colombia impacts the security of...

Living in Medellín, Colombia is a wonderful experience. In the area I live, and where my friends live, there is a strong sense of community. The employees of the local stores and restaurants know their customers by name, and they greet each other warmly or chat...

Mohamad Abedi-Dinner with the Soros Fellows and President Barack Obama Mohamad was born to Palestinian refugees in the United Arab Emirates. His family was under the constant threat of deportation back to the refugee camp in Lebanon where they had come from. His...

Jacqueline Rodriguez is the daughter of Salvadoran working class immigrants. Both her parents fled El Salvador during the Civil War and settled in Los Angeles, California where Jacqueline was born. At age 5 Jacqueline’s mother died of cancer and her dad, with the...

Felipe Hernandez at 10 Downing Street “I grew up in the ‘belly of the beast’ in that old apartment complex right across the street. I was not the best student; I frankly didn’t care, but what I did have was music, and it changed my life. While the sound of gun...

Applying for the Truman has been an amazing experience. Prior to receiving notice that I was a Truman Scholar, I was already beyond grateful for all that I had learned throughout the process, which helped me grow significantly. This scholarship made me address very...

Editor’s Note: After winning the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Colombia, Felipe returned to the US, filming a documentary with Road Trip Nation over the summer and then became a California Senate Fellow in Sacramento. In fall 2015, he traveled to the...

A World-Wide Community I never thought I would be here today. As the first to attend college in my family, the hurdles seemed endless. After graduating from UCI, the road was full of endless possibilities but also uncertainties. During the Marshall Scholarship...