The Harry S. Truman Scholarship is a national competition that recognizes U.S. college juniors demonstrating exceptional leadership and a commitment to careers in public service.

Every year, approximately 800 students nominated by their respective universities apply for the Truman scholarship. Out of the 800, 200 get the opportunity to be a finalist and interview to be the top 50 to 60 students to receive the scholarship.

Oklahoma State University students Amara Jackson will travel to Chicago, and Abigail McCrary and Jackie Sears will travel to Denver for their on-stage finalist interviews, being the only three representing an Oklahoma university.

Amara Jackson

“Just being part of the 200 under consideration is something I don’t take lightly,” Jackson said. “To become a Truman Scholar finalist, you have to be nominated by your institution, so I’m very grateful to be here and represent OSU.”

Jackson, a junior agribusiness major with a pre-law concentration and certificate in ethical leadership, transferred to OSU in spring 2023 before taking a gap year to serve as National FFA president. In that role, she delivered workshops, engaged with congressional, legislative and agricultural industry leaders, and served as chair of the National FFA Board of Directors.

At OSU, Jackson has served as an undergraduate teaching assistant, student delegate to the Council for Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching, mentor for the McKnight Scholars Leadership Program, and ambassador for the Ferguson College of Agriculture. She plans to pursue a Juris Doctor and later an L.L.M. in real estate and environmental law, with the goal of supporting farm and ranch families through transition and succession planning.

“Once I found out I was a finalist, I was shocked,” Jackson said. “Then I began reaching out to people who have gone through the process or are Truman Scholars to better understand what the interview process will look like. Now, I’m spending my time researching and learning the finer details to prepare.”

In preparation, finalists often work closely with university faculty, mentors and scholarship advisors to refine their applications and practice for interviews.

OSU supported its nominees through an intensive preparation process led by the Henry Bellmon Office of Scholar Development and Undergraduate Research. As part of that effort, nominees participated in a weeklong trip to New Mexico, where they were given dedicated time and space to complete the Truman application.

During that time, students worked closely with advisors, faculty and mentors to develop their written materials and clarify their academic and career goals.

“That first week in January, when we went to New Mexico, I just remember sitting there thinking, ‘Wow, I have a lot to figure out,’” Jackson said. “Now, it's the first week of March, and I feel comfortable and confident in the application that the committee is reviewing because of the time that the folks within the Office of Scholar Development took to work with me and also some of my own personal mentors and faculty.”

Abigail McCrary

The scholarship is a highly selective, congressionally established, and federal agency-backed award that provides $30,000 for graduate studies, extensive mentorship, leadership training and preferred hiring within the federal government for aspiring public service leaders. Truman finalists have a driven mission and vision for the impact they’d like to make.

“My main focus is how I can make an impact at my facility, the Naval Surface Warfare Center,” McCrary said. “Engineering, education and leadership are often treated as separate, but when they are combined, communication and the flow of ideas become easier to understand from person to person.”

McCrary is a junior majoring in electrical engineering. She came to OSU as a Freshman Research Scholar and began conducting research in the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology. McCrary has received multiple academic awards, including the Wentz Research Scholarship, a research grant for her capstone design project and the Department of Defense SMART Scholarship.

She has been involved in several campus organizations, serving as club representative coordinator on the K-12 Committee for CEAT Student Council, a member and ambassador for the President’s Leadership Council, a member of the Society of Women Engineers and an ambassador for the Scholar Development Office. In fall 2025, she founded First-Year Women in CEAT Fridays and serves as treasurer for Lou’s Locker, a local nonprofit that supports individuals with ALS and other mobility challenges.

Following her three-year commitment at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division, she plans to pursue a Master of Science in electrical engineering with a graduate certificate in engineering education and seek a leadership role in the Navy’s technical workforce.

“Throughout the Truman process, I actually ended up figuring out a lot about who I am and what I was passionate about and what I wanted to do,” McCrary said “So, regardless if this is something that I'm fortunate enough to get, it’s still about the impact that public service has to our communities.”

This is the first year in OSU history that the university has had three finalists, each with different majors and missions to share.

Jackie Sears

Sears is a junior transfer student from Tulsa Community College, majoring in psychology with a minor in sociology. At TCC, she served as director of marketing for TRIO Student Support Services, where she organized a clothing drive to support first-generation students in professional settings.

She also led the Free Clothes for the Community initiative at American Legion Post One in Tulsa. Sears has been recognized for her work with the TRIO Newcomer Director Award and was named a semifinalist for the Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship.

“The Truman isn’t just recognition, it’s a signal that people are paying attention to the kind of work you say you want to do,” Sears said. “For me, it confirmed that my focus on systems, not just symptoms, matters.”

Sears is interested in how developmental trauma is addressed by public systems and the structural challenges affecting underserved communities. She plans to pursue a Juris Doctor with a concentration in civil rights, family law and public interest advocacy.

As a Truman Scholar finalist, Sears will participate in regional interviews in Denver on March 16 alongside McCrary, while Jackson will interview in Chicago on March 25.

“I'm trying to remember to just be myself when I show up on that day, because at the end of the day, I only want to be selected on the premise of a mirror, not on the premise of somebody else,” Jackson said. “It's my hope that I can show up authentically and sincerely and genuinely, and that I can walk away with comfort from that interview knowing that regardless if I got it or not, I was still me, and that that is the best that I could do.”

The 2026 Truman Scholarship winners will be announced at 8 p.m. on April 24. The announcement of the new cohort of scholars, selected from 201 finalists from 138 institutions, will be officially released on the Truman Foundation website.

Story By: Annelise Vinson | annelise.vinson@okstate.edu