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UC
Berkeley student receives Truman Scholarship, is chosen from
among 599 candidates
07
Apr 2000
By
Media Relations
BERKELEY
-- Celina Yong, a junior at University of California, Berkeley,
is the recipient of a prestigious Truman Scholarship. The award
is based on leadership potential, intellectual ability and the
likelihood of "making a difference."
Yong,
who is from Rohnert Park, Calif., is one of 61 Truman Scholars.
She was selected from among 599 candidates nominated by 311
colleges and universities across the country. Each scholarship
provides $30,000 - $3,000 for the student's senior year and
$27,000 for two or three years of graduate study.
A
molecular environmental biology major, Yong plans to pursue
medical and Master's of Public Health degrees. She hopes to
work as a physician and, eventually, in global public health
care policy. Yong's experience includes working in medial clinics
in Quito, Ecuador, volunteering at San Francisco General Hospital's
emergency room, interning in health care policy at The White
House, and researching lung proteins with Dr. Jacob Bastacky
at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.
While
at UC Berkeley, Yong has maintained a 3.971 grade point average
while involved in several leadership and public service activities.
In 1998, she founded Promise America, a program that trains
student volunteers to visit elementary schools, encouraging
disadvantaged youth to set and achieve their goals. Yong is
now national director of the program, which she has expanded
to 22 states. Among other activities, she is co-editor-in-chief
of Issues Berkeley Medical Journal and a member of the Student
Health Advisory Committee. Yong is also an accomplished ballet
dancer and poet.
The
Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation was established by Congress
in 1975 as the federal memorial to the 33rd U.S. President.
There have been 2,003 Truman Scholars elected since the first
awards were made in 1977.
The
2000 Truman Scholarship recipients will assemble May 21 for
a week-long leadership development program at William Jewell
College in Liberty, Missouri, and receive their awards in a
special ceremony at the Truman Library in Independence, Missouri,
on May 28.
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