Cooper

Betsy Cooper of Amherst, N.Y., a junior in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) at Cornell University, is one of 76 students selected from a national pool of 635 candidates to win a prestigious Truman Scholarship.

Students were nominated for the scholarships from 305 colleges, nationwide. Open to juniors who plan careers in public service, the Truman Scholarship provides winners up to $30,000 -- $3,000 for their senior year of undergraduate education and up to $27,000 over three years for graduate studies. In addition, Truman scholars have the opportunity to participate in leadership development programs and have special opportunities for internships and employment with the federal government.

Cooper is the 16th Cornell student to be chosen for the award since the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation was established by the U.S. Congress in 1975 as the official federal memorial to honor the 33rd president. The Truman Scholarship is a merit-based scholarship for juniors with outstanding leadership potential. The award provides funding for graduate school as preparation for a career in government or public service.

"Betsy was originally recommended to me by [New York] Sen. Hillary Clinton's deputy chief of staff, for whom Betsy had interned, working as an appropriations and grants assistant," said Stephen Philip Johnson, Cornell assistant vice president for government affairs. Cooper has worked in the government affairs office as a legislative and research assistant for two years. "I was told that we couldn't afford not to hire her for our office, as she was so good. They were right," Johnson said. "Betsy is truly the kind of person we all are going to work for some day."

Cooper, a Meinig Family Cornell National Scholar, a 2000 United States Presidential Scholar (the only female in New York state to receive the honor for academics that year) and a 2000 National Merit Scholar, has taken on a broad range of public service responsibilities at Cornell while excelling academically. She is the founder and president of the Cornell Political Coalition, a non-partisan organization that brings political speakers to campus, sponsors important volunteer activities and disseminates unbiased political information to students. Previously, Cooper worked for U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy in Boston as a casework assistant.In addition at Cornell, Cooper has been the principal bassist of the chamber orchestra, a member of the Community Partnership Board and incoming co-chair of the SaveAid lobbying group, a Web site and student activist group that lobbies against state and federal higher-education budget cuts. She is an associate host of the "This Sunday," a public-interest radio talk show on WVBR, director of the Panhellenic Recruitment Counselors and a member of the Alpha Phi sorority executive board. Her numerous honors include a Frederic Conger Wood Fellowship to study British refugee policy in England this summer, a United Leaders Fellowship and induction into the Quill and Dagger Senior Honor Society.

"I am thrilled and honored to win this award; the entire application process has been a phenomenal learning experience, and winning came as an extremely pleasant surprise," said Cooper. "I am very excited to take my Cornell experiences, from music to politics to volunteer work, and translate them into a career in immigration and refugee policy."

Cooper expressed gratitude to the faculty, graduate students and professional staff who provided extensive support and inspiration to her over many months, assisted with numerous revisions of her application and helped her to define and focus her career goals. Most notably, she said, she credits Beth Fiori, fellowship coordinator with Cornell Career Services; Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor research education in ILR; Jonathan Adler '00 ILR, the most recent Truman scholar from Cornell in 1999; Stephen Philip Johnson; and Robert Smith, professor and associate dean in ILR. She also thanked the campus selection committee for the scholarship, which consisted of Fiori; Bronfenbrenner; Thomas Lyson, the L.H. Bailey Professor of Rural Sociology; Alan Mathios, professor of policy analysis and management; and Elizabeth Sanders, professor of government. Bronfenbrenner, Mathios, Sanders and almost a dozen other professors and administrators at Cornell helped prepare Cooper for the Truman Scholarship process by conducting a series of practice interviews.

In May, Cooper will participate in the Truman Scholars Leadership Week at William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo., near Harry Truman's hometown of Independence. Her plans for the future include working on refugee policy, studying international law and ultimately pursuing master's and doctoral degrees in public policy.