On the morning of April 10, Elijah Kahlenberg received a phone call from the University asking if he could come to the Tower at 4:45 p.m. dressed in a suit. Kahlenberg, a government, Middle Eastern studies and Jewish studies junior, thought he was getting expelled. 

Upon arriving at the Tower, President Jay Hartzell greeted Kahlenberg and led him into a conference room with a full camera crew. In this room, Kahlenberg learned he was UT’s newest Truman Scholar. 

“My first reaction was honestly to cry,” Kahlenberg said. “It was tears of joy, but also tears of satisfaction. All of this work that I put in has meaning, and it’s been validated.” 

The Truman Scholarship is a federally funded graduate scholarship that provides $30,000 to young leaders in the public service field and is the official memorial for former President Harry S. Truman. Since the award’s conception in 1976, 26 UT students have won. Each year, the scholarship awards money to about 60 students nationwide. 

Douglas Bruster, the director of the Office of Distinguished and Postgraduate Scholarships, said applicants first submit their applications for consideration at the campus level. He said a volunteer committee reads the applications and interviews candidates. The committee selects four campus nominees from those applications and interviews. 

“Along with three other UT students, Elijah was selected as a campus nominee on the basis of his written application — which emphasized his service, leadership and academic interest — and interview,” Bruster said in an email. “He then interviewed at the regional level, and was selected for the scholarship by a regional Truman committee.” 

Bruster was in the room when Kahlenberg found out he earned the distinction. He said it made him happy to see Kahlenberg’s recognition and receive a scholarship that will allow him to continue his work. 

“Elijah is a force of nature,” Bruster said. “It has been an honor to watch his drive and determination (and) to watch his hard work for years now. … You meet him, and you realize how passionate he is about this cause, which is one of bringing peace between peoples and kind of recognizing that the difficult work of peace is based in conversation and listening.” 

While at UT, Kahlenberg started Atidna International, a nonprofit focused on bringing together Jewish and Israeli students with Arab and Palestinian students through peaceful events and open dialogues. Jadd Hashem, a government sophomore and co-president of the organization, said he wasn’t surprised Kahlenberg got the scholarship. 

Kahlenberg plans to use the scholarship to pursue a joint J.D. and Ph.D. at Columbia University, focusing on international law and Middle East studies and government. Although he appreciates the money and prestige, Kahlenberg said his personal connection to Truman’s historical impact made winning the scholarship more rewarding.  

“I personally am Jewish, (and) a large part of my family endured the horrors of the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Europe,” Kahlenberg said. “It was under President Truman that a lot of my family was allowed to migrate to the United States on my dad’s side. Having my name associated in any capacity with President Truman through his foundation is a great personal honor for me.”