Gabe Amo '10 is Truman Scholar

Gabriel (Gabe) Felix Kofi Amo '10 is a man with little time for rest. The political science major is a Student Government Association senator, mentor to high school students preparing for college, a procedural advisor for the College Hearing Board, and a barista in the student-run coffeehouse, the Lyon's Den.

Today, he adds Truman Scholar to the list.

The Wheaton junior is one of 60 college students in the nation to win the prestigious 2009 Truman Scholarship in public service. Madeleine K. Albright, president of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, made the announcement. The 60 scholars come from 55 U.S. colleges and universities. They were selected from among 601 candidates at 289 institutions.

Amo, of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, was humbled to learn of the award. "Winning a Truman Scholarship is one of the most overwhelming successes of my life. Aside from being a recognition of my vision for the world, it is so much more sweet knowing that it is a reflection of the efforts by all who have contributed to my hopes and dreams - my family, advisors, professors, friends and all of the Wheaton community. With this scholarship, I hope that I am able to do on a large scale what others have done for me: providing the opportunity to achieve," he said.

Truman Scholars are selected on the basis of leadership potential, intellectual ability, and likelihood of 'making a difference.' While all Truman Scholars have impressive accolades on their resumes, Amo's is exceptionally lengthy. He is a Davis International Fellow, Wheaton Fellow, Charles A. Dana Scholarship recipient, Jane Lisman Katz '69 scholar and RI Secretary of State's Civic Leadership and Community Service Award recipient. He is also president of Wheaton's chapter of The Roosevelt Institution, a non-profit, non-partisan national network of campus-based think tanks.

His classroom work inspired him to travel to West Africa last summer through the Davis International Fellowship. "I pursued a project working in a Liberian refugee camp in Ghana. For nearly two months, I taught in the school run by my sponsoring organization where I helped initiate a vacation school and the expansion of the school's meal program."

Each Scholarship provides up to $30,000 for graduate study. Scholars also receive priority admission and supplemental financial aid at some premier graduate institutions, leadership training, career and graduate school counseling, and special internship opportunities within the federal government.

Amo will utilize the scholarship to further his work in education policy, a path formed long before he began his Wheaton career, "With a Liberian mother and a Ghanaian father who emigrated in the '80s, I know that my parents thought about my future as they became citizens," said Amo in his Truman application. "I understand the fragility of the idealism that drove my parents and continues to drive me."

Alex Trayford, Associate Dean of Studies, believes the Truman Foundation made the right choice. "As a young academic and concerned citizen, Gabe has a passion for issues of education disparity and youth advocacy. His service to these issues tells the story.  Gabe's interest in education goes beyond simply an academic interest – it is a personal one. As the son of African immigrants, Gabe saw in his own mother the sacrifices she made so that he could have a better future. Her own education in the U.S. helped her do that. So it is with a sense of obligation that Gabe works toward a better education system, particularly for the most disadvantaged."

Now that he is a Truman Scholar, Amo hopes to work at the Department of Education to address issues that aim to reduce disparities in urban education and contribute to innovative ideas for improving schools.

As for his future, his path is clear. "I see myself as a graduate of a prestigious law school at the beginning of a career in public interest. I would love to use my abilities to benefit those who do not reach America's promise of opportunity, particularly in issues of educational and economic equity. Due in part to the foundation I have built here at Wheaton, I know all my dreams are possible."

Read the release from the Truman Foundation Scholarship Website