Congratulations to LEDA Career Fellow Iesha-LaShay on winning the prestigious Harry S. Truman Foundation Scholarship!
The Truman Scholarship is awarded college juniors who are committed to public service and intend to pursue a career in government or a related field. Truman Scholars receive $30,000 for graduate study, professional development, leadership training, and employment opportunities. Approximately 60 recipients are selected each year.
Originally from Tulsa, OK, Iesha is a junior at Oberlin College majoring in Africana Studies and Law & Society. Iesha became a LEDA Career Fellow in 2019 and went on to work with the LEDA Career and Alumni Services team to prepare her application for the Truman Scholarship. She saw the Truman Scholarship as a way to support her future goals of attending law school while also improving her leadership skills. “I was excited to learn more about my goals for the future and how I can be a change agent in the future,” she said. “I was also excited to challenge myself and push myself to learn about issues outside of my comfort zone.”
After graduation, Iesha plans to attend law school and dedicate her career to ending the over-incarceration of women. She is passionate about working with the children of incarcerated parents and believes that, by addressing mass incarceration, specifically of women, we can improve the lives of children, families, and entire communities. “I hope to go to a top-ranked school that supports public-interest students and deepens my understanding of the criminal justice system and its relation to my communities,” she shared. The professional development opportunities of the Truman Foundation will also help Iesha achieve her legal career goals. “I believe that this program will open many doors for me because it will allow others to see that I am passionate about public service work and able to defend issues that I want to resolve.”
Iesha joins LEDA Cohort 12 Scholars Mina (University of North Carolina Chapel Hill ’21) and Bessie (Yale University ’21) as Truman Scholars. Mina and Bessie were awarded the Truman Scholarship in 2020. We are so proud of our LEDA Truman Scholars and celebrate them for how they exemplify our mission of diversifying the future of leadership.
Published April 27, 2021