Two juniors from the University of South Dakota have received the Truman Scholarship, one of the most prestigious public service scholarship programs in the nation.
Caleb Swanson and Caleb Weiland are two of 62 recipients nationwide this year and the only Truman Scholars from South Dakota in the 2023 cohort.
"Honestly, it’s really incredible,” Swanson said. “It’s still a little bit hard to process. It doesn’t quite feel real.”
The Truman Scholarship allows students interested in public service to pursue a graduate degree with grants and guidance from the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation.
“The scholarship provides $30,000 for the graduate school of the scholar's choice, extensive programming and mentorship opportunities, a directing hiring authority with the federal government and the ability to apply for additional matching funds with our graduate school partners,” the foundation’s website reads.
USD has had 18 students named Truman Scholars since 1986. This is the first time that two students have been named recipients in the same year.
Swanson is a political science and sustainability major. He’s currently USD’s Student Government Association president and president of the university’s environment club. He is also an executive board member for Greening Vermillion, a nonprofit that aims to raise conservation awareness in the community. He received USD’s Undergraduate Research Excellence Award for his research on water degradation in Lake Mitchell.
Swanson said he’s grateful for the help and support he received from his professors, coaches and faculty advisors throughout the application process.
“I just really couldn’t have done it without them, and I’m really appreciative of that,” he said.
Weiland is a political science major at USD who serves as student body president. He is also president of and a registered lobbyist for the South Dakota Student Federation. Weiland has interned for U.S. Senator Mike Rounds as well as the South Dakota State Legislature.
"I’ve been interested in public service since middle school,” he said about why he decided to apply for the scholarship. “It’s something that I’ve been passionate about, and I think too often people think of public service as, ‘oh, you have to run for office and be a politician,’ but there’s so many avenues that are not running for office that include serving in our government.”
Swanson said he and Weiland will travel to Missouri in May for a training week for the scholars.
Weiland hopes to get a joint master’s degree in public policy and his Juris Doctor degree.
“I think it’s something that would be a really fun opportunity to learn the inner workings of our legal institutions and effective public policy,” he said.
Swanson said he wants to become an environmental attorney.
“I’m currently looking at working for the Department of Justice and their environmental enforcement division,” he said. “So helping to enforce the nation’s environmental laws and ensuring that they are being complied with.”
Both students said they looked forward to working with the Truman Scholar community and meeting other members of their cohort.
“What brought me through the door … and keeping my passion up for wanting to be a Truman Scholar is the community,” Weiland said. “I talked to many Truman scholars from years prior who were not agreeing with me on every policy decision or political ideology, but their passion for public service and making our government work for the people… that’s a community that I want to be a part of.”
