College junior earns Truman Scholarship

Every year, the Harry Truman Scholarship Foundation awards a lucky and carefully selected handful of college juniors from across the country $30,000 each in scholarship money. This year, College junior Sarah Zimbler is one of them. The award is given to two students from each state who are committed to a career in public service and plan to attend graduate school to help achieve such goals. As a team leader in the West Philadelphia Tutoring Project and a member of a research project involving the implementation of curriculum reform in middle school science classes, Zimbler credited her passion for educating children with spurring her success. "I love my kids," the English and History major said emphatically, referring to the middle schoolers she teaches six hours every week. "I miss my kids when I'm not with them." So much so, in fact, that while she was studying abroad at Kings College in London last semester, she realized that she "can't be away from them" and decided to make teaching and urban education her future career. "So many people look at urban schools and see the problems. They only ask, 'What's wrong with urban schools?'" said Zimbler, 21, stressing that people need to probe deeper into the issue. But Zimbler's positive outlook couldn't possibly go farther. Her experiences with children in need started in her home state of Illinois with her work involving kids from Chicago's notoriously dangerous Robert Taylor housing projects, which she referred to as "a lawless land." Combining her love of the visual arts and her strong propensity for educating struggling urban youth, the Fine Arts minor worked for the Chicago Children's Museum in a program which allowed teens from the projects to "run the floor of the museum [for] a couple nights a week." Working to improve the state of urban education, Zimbler feels educators need to step back and ask, "What's great about city kids? And what do they have to offer?" "They have so much energy, so much creativity and potential," she marveled, adding, "They crave teachers." Zimbler's dedication and enthusiasm were not the only factors which garnered her the prestigious award, although her commitment to service was certainly one prerequisite in a grueling application process the Delta Delta Delta sister started last year before she left for England. Eligible College juniors must complete a series of 15 essay questions and come up with a policy proposal which Zimbler describes as being "like a research paper." The University then chooses three applicants based on the applications and a personal interview. The next step is selection at the state level, including what Zimbler called an "extremely rigorous interview." Finally the 65 award winners are selected for having demonstrated leadership potential, intellectual ability and likelihood of making a difference. Zimbler said that while the $30,000 is a wonderful benefit, it is not the only advantage open to a Truman Scholar. "Above and beyond [the financial award] it provides you with a network of people that are committed to service," she said.

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