2008 Woodie Awards
Two Truman Scholars from Hopkins this year
Issue date: 3/27/08
For the first time, Hopkins has had a pair of juniors named as recipients of the nationwide Harry S Truman Scholarship.
Kurt Herzer and Sonia Sarkar were both granted the award, amounting to $30,000, which is given to between 60 and 65 juniors nationwide each year who have demonstrated leadership and dedication to public service.
"But you can take it to a fairly interesting angle," Herzer, a public health major, said.
Herzer framed his application around public health and health services research and policy, focusing on patient safety. He made a policy proposal in which he suggested the creation of a public-private partnership that could be a national safety improvement team.
The most critical factor to his success was excellent mentoring, Herzer said, ranging from his academic advisor to those he worked with in biostatistics and health policy.
Herzer, though he wants to keep his options open, is heading towards an M.D./Ph.D. degree in health services research and health policy.
Sarkar found out the results last Tuesday, just hours before the official announcement.
"I was so nervous, especially after the Truman interviews," Sarkar said. "They [the board] throw questions and you, and some even seem angry." She was asked questions about poetry (the question happened to be about her favorite poet, Rabindranath Tagore), education policy, the presidential elections and healthcare plans. One other notable question was whether she would plan a preemptive strike against Iran (she said she wouldn't).
Sarkar's policy proposal was about urban housing's connection with poor health. Her work with Project HEALTH gave her a focus on housing and exposed her to clients who had unlivable housing, such as one with an unsafe design or asbestos.
In her proposal, she described the different types of housing and built off the CDC's Health Homes Initiative, which made guidelines for neighborhoods. She wants to put actions into policies and create housing help desks through Baltimore, she said.
Kurt Herzer and Sonia Sarkar were both granted the award, amounting to $30,000, which is given to between 60 and 65 juniors nationwide each year who have demonstrated leadership and dedication to public service.
"But you can take it to a fairly interesting angle," Herzer, a public health major, said.
Herzer framed his application around public health and health services research and policy, focusing on patient safety. He made a policy proposal in which he suggested the creation of a public-private partnership that could be a national safety improvement team.
The most critical factor to his success was excellent mentoring, Herzer said, ranging from his academic advisor to those he worked with in biostatistics and health policy.
Herzer, though he wants to keep his options open, is heading towards an M.D./Ph.D. degree in health services research and health policy.
Sarkar found out the results last Tuesday, just hours before the official announcement.
"I was so nervous, especially after the Truman interviews," Sarkar said. "They [the board] throw questions and you, and some even seem angry." She was asked questions about poetry (the question happened to be about her favorite poet, Rabindranath Tagore), education policy, the presidential elections and healthcare plans. One other notable question was whether she would plan a preemptive strike against Iran (she said she wouldn't).
Sarkar's policy proposal was about urban housing's connection with poor health. Her work with Project HEALTH gave her a focus on housing and exposed her to clients who had unlivable housing, such as one with an unsafe design or asbestos.
In her proposal, she described the different types of housing and built off the CDC's Health Homes Initiative, which made guidelines for neighborhoods. She wants to put actions into policies and create housing help desks through Baltimore, she said.
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