Mary BoyteOn Feb. 18, the Truman Scholarship announced that the University of Mississippi had three finalists, Jilkiah Bryant, Alex Bush and Andy Flores. All three juniors have one thing in common: the steadfast desire to create a positive impact on their communities.
According to the Truman Scholarship website, the Truman Scholarship “awards merit-based scholarships to college students who plan to pursue careers in government or elsewhere in public service. Truman Scholars receive up to $30,000 for graduate or professional school.”
Bryant, Bush and Flores are now preparing for a final, virtual committee interview held on March 18. The students will participate in a mock committee interview with a former Truman Scholar on Feb. 25. Scholarship recipients will be announced on April 15.
Last year, there were 62 Truman Scholars selected from 51 institutions. Winners will be announced in early-mid April.
Psychology major Alex Bush was first contacted by Vivian Ibrahim, the director of the Office of National Scholarship Advisement in the spring of 2021. Ibrahim had read a story about Bush in The Daily Mississippian and thought she might be a good candidate for the Truman Scholarship. By the end of the fall semester, Bush had turned in her application.
The application process did not happen overnight.
Ibrahim and Whitney Woods, assistant director of ONSA, worked with the three students for months. To gain one of the four semi-finalist spots, the students had to go through an ONSA committee interview in December. They then found out their semi-finalist status and moved on to editing their applications with ONSA, turning them in on Jan. 17.
Each student said the process was stressful, yet rewarding.
“The entire process was incredibly long and, at times, very stressful. However, even before I was selected as a finalist, I already gained more than I ever could have imagined from this experience,” Bush said. “I was challenged to consider the potential paths for my future and was exposed to information relating to my field of interest.”
Each student has led an active life on campus centered around creating positive change. Bush joined Active Minds, an organization striving to dispel the negative stigma around mental health, in her freshman year as a member of the outreach committee. She is now co-director of outreach.
Public health and services major Jilkiah Bryant is a McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement’s Catalyzing Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Initiative Scholar.
Public policy leadership and philosophy major Andy Flores is president of UM’s First Generation Network and is active in the Mississippi College Access Project. He is the youngest fellow of the UnidosUS Afro-Latinx Avanzando program.
Bush said she feels honored to be a Truman Finalist.
“Honestly, I feel beyond honored and proud to be of such an incredible group and represent Ole Miss,” Bush said. “Being a Truman Finalist is genuinely the greatest moment of my academic and public service career.”
Since high school, Bush has been advocating for mental health awareness, particularly suicide prevention awareness. She has lost six loved ones to suicide. Determined to bring about change, Bush has spread mental health awareness across different media platforms, including the Emmy nominated Colorado Public Service Announcement “Teens2Teens.”
“My experience has been extraordinary,” Bush said. “Throughout the past five years, I have spoken to thousands of people and had the opportunity to spread awareness and hope. Words cannot express how grateful I am for these experiences, because the work I’ve been able to do has changed my life forever.”
Bryant started her public service career at a hot dog ministry event in Columbus, Mississippi. She was a Bible study volunteer at St. James Methodist Church when she discovered that volunteers were difficult to find. To change this, she started Project Powerful.
Project Powerful partnered with Bryant’s high school, Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, to seek volunteers. The organization branched into other areas as Bryant finished high school. She partnered with five girls in Kemper County to host a cheer clinic focused on spreading information on physical health to girls aged 9-12.
When Bryant started college, she established Project Powerful as a non-profit and set up a board of graduate students and rising professionals.
Bryant also started the Service Advocate Program. This program selects 3-5 students across Mississippi each year to undergo a one-year community outreach program. The program includes a proposal program so students can come up with their own service projects.
Flores said becoming a Truman Finalist represents everything that he has been striving for.
“It’s incredibly meaningful in a lot of ways, especially because it’s exactly what I came to college for,” Flores said. “The idea of dedicating myself to public service has always been something that I aspire to.”
Flores focuses his efforts on gaining access to financial aid for those who cannot otherwise afford it. In 2021, Mississippi announced it would be dissolving financial aid programs including MTAG, MSEG and the HELP Grant. In reaction, Flores created HelpSaveHELP. Through HelpSaveHELP, Flores has traveled across the state lobbying for its continuation.
Truman Finalist is another bright spot on the roads of Bush, Bryant and Flores.
Bryant, a native of Macon, Mississippi, said she plans to return home after leaving the state to pursue a graduate degree in public service.
She emphasized the importance of change brought forth by someone who knows and loves the state they work in.
“I think that the only way we can change a state is by using people who live in the state and actually experience the issues that we face,” Bryant said.
Ocean Springs, Mississippi, native Flores expressed similar thoughts. To him, issues are better understood from the inside.
Flores plans on going out of state for graduate studies, and he is considering going to law school. He, like Bryant, is planning to return home.
“I came (to Ole Miss) with the intent of making Mississippi a better place,” Flores said. “I developed my perception of the world here.”
He wants to dispel myths outsiders may have of Mississippi and show them that it is worthwhile to come here.
Bush is also planning on going out of state to pursue a graduate degree in clinical psychology. A native of Denver, Bush said she would consider coming back.
“If an opportunity presents itself to stay in Mississippi, I would definitely consider staying because I love it here,” Bush said. “Mississippi truly has some of the friendliest people I’ve ever been around.”
Bush said she doesn’t know exactly what the future holds, but she does know it will include work similar to what she does now.
“I can say with certainty that I will continue to work with mental health awareness and suicide prevention,” she said.
All three students emphasized the importance of traveling in order to gain knowledge and insight they can use to improve their own communities.
Whether or not they return to Mississippi, Bush, Bryant and Flores are sure to create change in the years to come. The Truman Scholarship may be the first step.
