"My mother is my role model. And since I am a woman, I can model my life and my character based on her example." - Briana Payton is a Truman Scholar studying Sociology at Princeton University. Briana attended the Truman Foundation's 4oth Anniversary Party at Gracie Mansion earlier this month.
Danielle Neighbor
"I've had classes where I felt like I had to prove myself. And then I have had classes where I did actually have to prove myself. One time I walked into my Physics II class wearing a pink sorority shirt. My, all male, project group acted as though I was invisible until I loudly asserted myself. But there have been many women and men in the STEM fields who have encouraged me and told me that there is a place for me in Engineering. Though, I don't wear my sorority letters to my Physics class anymore." - Danielle Neighbor is a Truman Scholar studying Engineering at University of Arkansas. She attended the Truman Foundation 40th Anniversary Party that was held at Gracie Mansion earlier this month.
Victoria Maloch
"People don't expect a female Democrat from Arkansas to be working in Agricultural Economics. Blanch Lincoln is my role model. She was the first female chair of the US Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and by example showed that being from a rural place has value. She gave me the confidence that I don't need to leave behind my rural experience or my rural values in order to have a seat at the table. There is a place for me in this field." - Victoria Maloch is a Truman Scholar studying at the University of Arkansas and she attended the Truman Foundation 40th Anniversary Party held at Gracie Mansion earlier this month.
Cara Valente Compton
"I had a son that I gave up for adoption when I was 22 years old. It was the biggest heartbreak of my life, but now we are in touch and he has a child and get to sneak peaks at my grandchild. I have four more children who I have raised - three daughters and one son. Motherhood has really been the most empowering thing in my life. My youngest child, my son, is transgender and wants to be called Hazel. So I guess I really have four daughters." - Cara Valente Compton is a Truman Scholar and she attended the Truman Foundation's 40th Anniversary Party at Gracie Mansion earlier this month.