MSU’s Garrison named university’s latest Truman Scholar
Contact: Mary Pollitz
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State is celebrating the university’s newest Harry S. Truman Scholarship winner. Evan Garrison of Webb City, Missouri, is receiving up to $30,000 in graduate-study expenses as part of the highly coveted national award honoring the nation’s 33rd president.
The MSU junior is one of 55 selected from 48 colleges and universities. The Truman Foundation’s Finalist Selection Committee chose 198 students from 136 institutions to interview earlier this year, narrowed from an initial pool of 781 applicants.
Garrison, an aerospace engineering and mathematics major with a minor in artificial intelligence, political science and global engineering leadership, is a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Scholar in MSU’s Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College. He is an undergraduate researcher for the university’s applied aerodynamics and aeroacoustics research group and an undergraduate research assistant for MSU’s Raspet Flight Laboratory.
“Evan has taken advantage of every opportunity he’s had as a student at Mississippi State University, and he is most deserving of this outstanding recognition as a Truman Scholar. I am very proud of him and all he’s accomplished. I know he will continue to bring great prestige to our university for many years to come,” MSU President Mark E. Keenum said. “I am also grateful for the wonderful faculty and staff we have at Mississippi State who work with students like Evan, as well as his peers, who are winning prestigious scholarships, fellowships and so much more.”
Keenum noted the many donors who support MSU students by investing in scholarships.
“Our generous alumni and friends are essential to our students’ success as they pursue their dreams, achieve their goals and earn their Mississippi State degree,” he said.
Garrison intends to pursue a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering, hoping to bridge the gaps between experts and policymakers to develop pivotal tools that can translate into a sustained program to protect critical space infrastructure.
“This is an affirmation that what I have been working toward is worthwhile. The intersection of science and technology with policy and public service is often met with skepticism or treated as secondary,” Garrison said. “I am incredibly grateful that the Truman Scholarship recognizes the importance of this work and is willing to invest in me to pursue it.”
He is a member of the American Society for Engineering Education Student Chapter, and Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, while serving as managing editor of MSU’s undergraduate research journal Endeavors and external relations chair for the MSU Speech and Debate Council, among other campus leadership roles. Garrison credits immense opportunities at MSU for helping build the groundwork for his academic career.
“MSU’s support opened the door to internships in Washington, D.C., Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Liverpool, U.K., along with additional on-campus research with Raspet Flight Research Laboratory and the Applied Aerodynamics and Aeroacoustics Research Group,” he said. “When I arrived at MSU, I had never heard of the Truman Scholarship, did not know what research was, and did not imagine traveling the country and world through my academic work. All of these opportunities were made possible by MSU.”
Mentoring and advising for MSU Truman Scholarship applicants, nominees and finalists is provided by the university’s Office of Prestigious External Scholarships and Director David Hoffman. For more information on how to apply, visit www.honors.msstate.edu/initiatives/office-prestigious-external-scholarships.
Learn more about the Shackouls Honors College at www.honors.msstate.edu.
Mississippi State University is taking care of what matters. Learn more at www.msstate.edu.