The Harry S. Truman Foundation’s Finalist Selection Committee selected 198 students from 136 institutions to interview with the Foundation’s Regional Review Panels between March 2nd and April 13th, 2026. The 2026 competition elicited 781 applications from 305 institutions. Read the full list of finalists here. The 2026 Truman Scholars will be announced by April 24, 2026.
Truman Scholars demonstrate outstanding leadership potential, a commitment to a career in government or the nonprofit sector, and academic excellence. Each Truman Scholar receives funding for graduate studies, leadership training, career counseling, and special internship and fellowship opportunities within the federal government.
Established by Congress in 1975 as the living memorial to President Harry S. Truman and national monument to public service, the Truman Scholarship carries the legacy of the 33rd President by supporting and inspiring the next generation of public service leaders. President Truman embodied this commitment to the future of public service by asking Congress to create a living memorial devoted to this purpose, rather than a traditional brick-and-mortar monument. For more than forty years, the Truman Foundation has fulfilled that mission: inspiring and supporting Americans from diverse backgrounds to public service.
Nash Potts of Tigard is a third-year Kinesiology student at OSU with career goals of becoming an emergency medical physician in Oregon. Nash began his time at OSU at the same time as he began to volunteer with the Corvallis Fire Department as a resident firefighter and EMT. In addition to his full load of coursework, Nash currently dedicates nights, days, and weekends to full time volunteer firefighting duties. During his time with the Corvallis Fire Department and Corvallis Rural Fire Protection District, Nash has responded to calls from the Willamette Valley’s rural community members from all walks of life and in all situations. It was during this time that Nash particularly noticed the gap in healthcare coverage that Oregon’s rural communities experience. He observed that rural residents often have to turn to emergency services even for non-emergency situations due to a lack of regular healthcare services and coverage. As a future emergency physician, Nash is starting the work now to help close this gap and work towards the improved health and resilience of rural Oregon. With the Truman Scholarship, Nash seeks to learn more about how he can affect change in policy at the same time as training for his medical license.
Now a senior crew member with the Corvallis Fire Department, Nash also seeks to mentor and act as a resource for the next generation of volunteer firefighters. Not only does he advocate for scaffolding to protect the health of rural community members, he also aims to contribute towards the mental resilience of his fellow firefighters and EMTs.
Nash Potts interviewed for the Truman Scholarship on March 9th in Seattle, Washington. If selected for the Truman Scholarship, he hopes to participate in Truman’s 2027 Washington Summer Institute where he would like to work with the US Department of Health, DC health, or the Washington VA Medical Center in order to explore healthcare access in rural settings from a policy and public health perspective.
Truman Scholarship nominations are administered at Oregon State University through LeAnn Adam, Director of National and Global Scholarships Advising and Truman campus representative and Becca Otto, National and Global Scholarships Advising Coordinator. For more information about applying for the Truman Scholarship or other national and global scholarships, please visit our homepage.