Young Alumni Awarded Prestigious Scholarships

In a continuation of their exceptional academic careers at Middlesex, two young alumni have recently been awarded prestigious scholarships for their work as undergraduates. As we shared earlier this past spring, Katherine Lovell ’16 was selected to attend the Fulbright U.K Summer Institute. In addition to Katherine, Dakota Foster ’14, a rising senior at Amherst College, has been named a Truman Scholar. Celebrating “those who make a difference through public service in all of its forms,” The Harry S. Truman Scholarship awards $30,000 to recipients for graduate study in the area of public service, as well as leadership training and career counseling. This year, Dakota is one of 62 Truman Scholars selected from a highly competitive pool of 768 nominations.

On their website, The Truman Scholars Foundation describes some of Dakota’s many interests and accomplishments:

“Dakota is a double-major in political science and Asian languages/civilizations. She is passionate about foreign and defense policy with a special interest in counterterrorism and the Middle East. Dakota has interned for the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, where she worked on a range of issues related to U.S. national security efforts in the Middle East, including the JCPOA, combating ISIS, Iranian militias, and strategies for countering violent extremism. She is learning Arabic and has studied at the University of Jordan, volunteering with the Collateral Repair Project. At Amherst, Dakota is involved broadly in the college community. She serves on the executive board of the Amherst Political Union and as a student member of the College’s Discipline Committee, in addition to working as a research assistant, leading college tours, and playing for the Amherst Women’s Lacrosse Team. Dakota plans to pursue either a PhD or a joint Masters in Security Studies-JD before continuing to work on issues of national security.”

Congratulations to both Dakota and Katherine!