Student named Truman Scholar

SMU junior Rahfin Faruk was announced as a 2014 Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation scholar Wednesday. He was selected as one of 59 students nation-wide to receive a $30,000 scholarship toward graduate education for government or public sector studies, and is the 14th scholar named from SMU since the program’s creation by Congress in 1975.

“I think this award — really, a collective award — represents the continued rise of SMU as a world-class university,” Faruk said. “We had three Truman finalists this year, and it is the work of our Board, our faculty and our staff that have made this possible.”

Juniors Prithvi Rudrappa and Fantine Giap were both finalists for the Truman scholarship — narrowed down from an applicant pool of 655 students nominated by 293 colleges and universities in the U.S.

Faruk is a President’s Scholar majoring in economics, political science, public policy and religious studies, and minoring in mathematics. He plans to use the Truman scholarship to get his MBA and MPP to pursue work in the social enterprise sector.

In his application, he “called for improved financial inclusion” to combat disproportionate costs for financial services that equate to “the poorer you are, the more you pay.”

“As someone who wants to break down sectoral boundaries, I was attracted to the societal impact I could have as a Truman Scholar,” Faruk said. “Truman Scholars are everywhere — in a wide array of sectors and functions — and they are working to serve humanity in better ways.”