A Tibetan Student Wins Prestigious Truman Scholarship[Wednesday, 6 April 2011, 2:22 p.m.]
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| Tenzin Seldon/File photo |
NEW
YORK: Tenzin Seldon, a junior at Stanford University and a first
generation Tibetan American, has been announced as one of the winners
of the prestigious Truman Scholarship.The Harry S. Truman
Scholarship Foundation announced that 60 students from 54 US colleges
and universities were selected as 2011 Truman Scholars. The 60 Scholars
were selected from among 602 candidates nominated by 264 colleges and
universities. Each Scholarship provides up to $30,000 for graduate
study.Recipients must be US citizens, have outstanding
leadership potential and communication skills, be in the top quarter of
their class, and be committed to careers in government or the
not-for-profit sector.”This is a historic moment for my
community and my people,” Seldon said of the Truman Scholarship. “It’s
beyond me and my achievements. It speaks to the achievements of how far
the first generation of Tibetans in America has come. It is a testament
to activists around the world who have faced a lot of cynicism for the
work they do and the danger they expose themselves to.”Seldon
served as regional coordinator for Students for a Free Tibet,
overseeing chapters in California, Hawaii and Nevada. During that time,
she also served as San Francisco Team Tibet executive during the 2008
Beijing Olympics, bringing global attention to issues of human rights
in China.Seldon currently works as a fellow at the Center for
Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, where she focuses on
fostering a climate of happiness and health and well-being on campus.
She was a key organizer of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit to
campus last October and, as president of Stanford Friends of Tibet,
organized a dialogue between His Holiness and mainland Chinese students
and scholars, which took place off campus.As a Summer Fellow
with the Haas Center for Public Service, Seldon designed and developed
a program that added critical thinking and public speaking to the
curriculum at a refugee school in India.At Stanford, she serves
as chair of the ASSU Diversity, Tolerance and Equality Team, and has
worked to improve the experience of first-generation, low-income
students.Seldon, who is currently running for student body
president at Stanford, hopes to work in foreign service as a diplomat
or as an elected official in the Tibetan government.Seldon’s
father, Mr Ngodup Tsering, was a Secretary at Department of Education
in the Central Tibetan Administration as well as a Member of the
Tibetan parliament.–Report filed by Tsewang Phuntso, Liaison Officer – Latin America
