IU student awarded Truman scholarship

Junior Rahaf Safi was surprised to learn she was named a 2013 Truman scholar when President Michael McRobbie told her the news during a meeting of the Board Aeons on April 10.

“It was an exciting moment because I was surrounded by friends and faculty that helped me achieve the things I have,” she said.

The Truman Scholars award, named after President Harry Truman, is an award given to students dedicated to education and public service, according to the scholarship website. Students across the country compete for 60 awards and go through applications and interviews.

“The first part was applying for the IU nomination,” Safi said. “They selected me and helped me with my application. From there, I was named a finalist in February.Along with applying, more work went into Safi receiving the award. She has a large presence on campus, and is very involved, she said.

“At IU, I founded Oxfam America,” she said. “It works with hunger, poverty and injustice. We hold events to educate students on global affairs and how they relate to students.”

Safi founded Oxfam at IU at the beginning of her senior year as a part of a bigger association.

“Oxfam has been growing,” she said. “They’re all over the world. This is just a branch of Oxfam America, at IU.”

Safi is also involved in many other activities on campus. She volunteers at the non-profit domestic violence shelter Middle Way House and is a student representative for the Committee for Fee Review. She also is a recent appointment to the Board of Aeons, an Indiana Daily Student employee and a participant in AmeriCorps in Bloomington.

The reward Safi received for her involvement at IU will give her a chance to pursue graduate studies.

“I’ll be part of a community of current and former Truman Scholars,” she said. “Hopefully it will lead to quite a few things, like after I graduate, a job in the field of constitutional design.”

Safi, a political science and philosophy major with a concentration in the Political and Civic Engagement Program, plans to attend law school after she graduates. She said she is proud to represent her University, and is glad for all of the opportunities that she’s received.

“I’m proud to be a Hoosier,” she said. “I’m proud to represent IU as a Truman Scholar. It’s tremendous the amount of support that I’ve gotten, and I thank those who have helped me reach this point.”