Jacobs

ITHACA, N.Y. -- New Orleans native Lauren Jacobs, a junior psychology major in the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University, is one of 77 students selected from a national pool of 609 candidates to win a prestigious Truman Scholarship.

Jacobs is the 17th Cornell student to win the scholarship award since the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation was established in 1975. A merit-based award for college juniors with outstanding leadership potential, the Truman scholarship provides $26,000 for graduate study as preparation for a career in government or public service.

"I'm still waiting for someone to pinch me and wake me up from this dream," said Jacobs, who currently is studying abroad in New Zealand.

But it's no dream -- as Jacobs's adviser and Cornell's renowned sleep expert, James Maas, professor of psychology, will attest.

"Lauren personifies the ideal Cornell student: motivated, inquisitive -- a person who seized the myriad of opportunities the university has to offer," said Maas, who nominated Jacobs for the scholarship. "Using scholarship, leadership, dedication to public service and motivation to succeed as the criteria, I would place Lauren in the top 1 percent of the more than 50,000 undergraduates I have taught in my Cornell career. She is that good."

Jacobs was one of three Cornell students chosen for the Robinson-Appel Humanitarian Award in 2002 and is the founder and project leader of the university's Dump & Run program. Dump & Run is a national program that reduces end-of-year waste on campuses while raising money for local charities through the collection and resale of useful secondhand student goods.

In fall 2003, Jacobs attended the Cornell in Washington Program, in Washington, D.C., where she served as a research assistant at the Institute for Educational Leadership, while volunteering to teach third-graders at an inner-city school. She is a Cornell Ambassador, serves on the Campus Life Student Advisory Committee and is an active member of Pi Beta Phi, serving as

the sorority's philanthropy chairperson and on its executive committee. She will be inducted into the Quill and Dagger Senior Honor Society in fall 2004.Jacobs' stellar academic career was almost stopped dead in its tracks. The summer before her freshman year, she contracted vasculitis, a catastrophic autoimmune disease. Within a month of its onset, the former high school cross-country star needed a wheelchair just to get around her house. After consulting six doctors, the near fatal ailment was correctly diagnosed as a rare allergic reaction to a common acne medication. Jacobs quickly recovered, once she stopped using the drug, and was released from the hospital just in time to prepare for her first classes at Cornell.

In January 2003, she celebrated the one-year anniversary of her recovery by completing the Tampa Bay Marathon. In April 2003, she completed the Boston Marathon.

"Blessed with a second chance, I am now happier, stronger and more determined to make my life meaningful and worthwhile," Jacobs wrote on her Truman application.

Jacobs said she plans to pursue a master's degree in public policy with a concentration in education -- at, she hopes, the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Jacobs extended a special thanks to the staff at Cornell Career Services, who helped prepare her for the Truman interview, most notably Beth Fiori, fellowship coordinator. She also expressed gratitude to members of the Truman selection committee: Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of research and labor research education at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations; Thomas Lyson, the L.H. Bailey Professor of Developmental Sociology; Alan Mathios, professor of policy analysis and management; and Elizabeth Sanders, professor of government.

She said she was especially grateful to Maas "for his unwavering support, wonderful advice and belief in me."

Competing for the Truman scholarship, Jacobs said, "has helped to clarify my goals and affirm my aspirations. I'm honored to be part of a network of individuals who want to commit their lives to public service."