Northwestern students win congressional scholarships

Northwestern Now: Summaries

(left to right) Lucia Brunel, Daniel Linzer, Kathleen Nganga. Photo by Michael Goss.EVANSTON - Northwestern University students Kathleen Nganga and Lucia Brunel are winners of two elite congressional scholarships.Nganga, a political science major in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, was awarded the Harry S. Truman Scholarship; and Brunel, a chemical and biological engineering student in the McCormick School of Engineering, is the recipient of the Barry Goldwater Scholarship. Though from different ends of the academic spectrum, the scholars have much in common.“Lucia’s and Kathleen’s success underscores Northwestern’s ability to cultivate young leaders across schools and disciplines,” said Elizabeth Lewis Pardoe, director of the Office of Fellowships. Congress created the Goldwater and Truman scholarships to honor and support the nation’s outstanding undergraduate STEM researchers and public servants.Recipients of the Truman Scholarship receive a $30,000 award toward graduate school, and the Goldwater Scholarship awards up to $7,500 to college students who intend to pursue research careers in science, math and engineering.Nganga, a junior from Casper, Wyoming, will use the Truman award to pursue a Ph.D. in political science and public policy. Her work is focused on race and ethnicity in East Africa and America.“I am interested in groups who have had their policy preferences ignored and the mechanisms through which marginalized groups mobilize for political change,” she said. In addition to understanding those mechanisms, Nganga believes in the importance of having critical conversations around these issues. On campus, she serves as the director of education for the Northwestern University Community for Human Rights.Nganga plans to spend the summer in Kenya continuing the research she began as a Posner Fellow in 2015 and interweaving it with her study of American politics. She plans to comparatively analyze issues of marginalization and political mobilization.Brunel, winner of the Goldwater Scholarship,is a junior from ...

Read More