Q & A with Jacob Shercliffe, UAA’s latest Truman Scholar

Green & Gold News

UAA economics student Jacob Shercliffe is one of 62 people nationwide named this year as a Truman Scholar. (Photo by Philip Hall / University of Alaska Anchorage)Jacob Shercliffe’s father runs the simulation lab for UAA’s College of Health. His mother helps manage the electronic health record for the Veterans Administration facility in Anchorage. His sister, UAA alumna Rachel Shercliffe, is enrolled in medical school in Michigan. And his brother graduates next month with a biology degree from UAF.
“I am the black sheep of the family,” said Jacob, a member of Seawolf Debate and Model U.N., “because they all have health-related careers/education and I study political science and economics.”
Jacob recently received the honor of being named Alaska’s sole Truman Scholar for 2017 — one of 62 Truman Scholars selected this year out of an initial 768 nominations, nationwide.
The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation provides up to $30,000 to each Scholar in support of graduate study. Criteria for the honor include exceptional leadership potential, commitment to careers in government or public service and academic achievement.
Previous Truman Scholars from UAA (and its predecessor institution, Anchorage Community College) include Jonathan M. Karpoff (1977); Ronee Miller (1983); Becky L. Gay (1981); Margaret R. Simonian (1990); Glenn D. Boledovich (1992); Anna Zaroff (1997); Erin L. Trimble (2003); Miranda Zindel (2006); Umair Iqbal (2007); Candace Renee Lewis (2008); Deana Katherine Glick (2009); and Brett J. Frazer (2011).
Jacob talked to us about his life, activities and future plans:

Where were you born and raised, and where did you go to school before coming to UAA?
I was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, but I never really knew the place. Trying to describe where I was “raised” is a bit of a challenging question. My parents are both ex-Air Force so we moved around a lot as a kid. I’ve lived in Panama, England, and Maryland before moving up to Alaska in the 5th grade. I ...

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