Dartmouth junior named 2002 Truman Scholar

Posted 03/27/02

Dartmouth junior Heidi Williams was named a 2002 Truman Scholar by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation on March 22. Along with the Fulbright, the Marshall and the Rhodes, the Truman Scholarship is among the top national awards available to undergraduates. It finances two or three years of graduate study for students interested in government or nonprofit careers. This year's 64 scholars were selected from a field of 590 candidates nominated by professors from 287 colleges and will receive $30,000 each.

Williams, who grew up in Williston, N.D., is a math major interested in algebra and number theory as well as math education. At Dartmouth, her work with Professor of Mathematics Dorothy Wallace on the Math Across the Curriculum program convinced her to pair her burgeoning interest in math theory and research with teaching.

Williams recently organized a "Sister-to-Sister" conference, which brought more than 100 middle-school girls from Vermont and New Hampshire to Dartmouth for a day of discussions and interaction with Dartmouth women. Williams has also published a paper on her research in mathematical cryptology, and recently returned from the Budapest Semesters in Mathematics program. She works as a writing tutor at Dartmouth's Composition Center and is active in ballet and modern dance.

Truman Scholars must be US citizens, have outstanding leadership potential and communication skills, be in the top quarter of their class, and be committed to careers in government or the not-for-profit sector. Recipients attend a weeklong leadership development conference in the spring held in Liberty, Mo. Many receive special consideration and financial aid from top graduate programs.