The Penn State University Fellowships Office earlier this academic year nominated three outstanding students, including Conshohocken’s Raymond Hoy, for the highly competitive Harry S. Truman Scholarship.

The scholarship is managed by the Truman Foundation — an independent federal agency — and provides a $30,000 award for junior undergraduate students to continue education in public service and become what the foundation calls “change agents.”

Hoy, 20, a graduate of Plymouth Whitemarsh High School, is majoring in both economics and community, environment and development at the University Park campus. Hoy is a research associate at the Center for Economic and Community Development at Penn State, a Paterno Fellow, is active in Apollo Benefitting THON and other THON-related positions, as well as additional volunteer, intern and work positions during his time in high school and college.

As a part of their applications, all three nominees were tasked with providing — in essay form — examples of previous leadership, public service, problems they would like to address when entering public service, the graduate program they would like to pursue, future plans and a policy proposal that would benefit the public.

These students first competed internally with fellow Penn Staters for one of the University’s endorsements. For 2019, the Truman Foundation reported they received 840 applications from 346 colleges and universities. The last time a Penn State student won the scholarship was in 2004.

Selection by the Truman Foundation is based on records of leadership, public service, and academic achievement, according to the website. The 199 finalist candidates will be interviewed in person throughout the month of March and into early April. The winners will be announced on April 17th.

In order to apply, students must be a U.S. citizen or a U.S. national from the Pacific Islands; be a college junior with a GPA of 3.7 or higher; plan to attend a professional or graduate school to prepare for a career in government, nonprofit or advocacy sectors; and commit to spending three of the first seven years after graduate or a professional school working in public service.