Contact: Maridith Geuder
STARKVILLE, Miss.--An Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran who received a Purple Heart and Combat Action Ribbon for Middle East service is Mississippi State's 16th Truman Scholar.
Aaron R. Rice of Sumrall, a junior political science major at the university, was named Tuesday [March 27] by the Washington, D.C.-based Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. Selected from approximately 600 applicants, he is among 65 to earn the competitive national award that recognizes and rewards a desire to enter public service.
Truman Scholars receive up to $30,000 to pursue graduate degrees in public service fields. In return, they must commit to work in any of those fields for three of seven years after completing their degrees.
"This is one of the highest and most competitive honors acknowledging both ability and the desire to make a professional commitment to service," said MSU President Robert H. "Doc" Foglesong. "Aaron has demonstrated his leadership at Mississippi State, and we're confident that the Truman Scholarship will be instrumental in helping him fulfill his dream of contributing to public policy."
A 2002 Oak Grove High School graduate, Rice said he plans to attend law school and specialize in administrative law and public policy. "My goal is to become a public servant in Mississippi," he added.
He credits his father Randy as "the biggest factor in my interest in public service." A forester recently appointed to the state Board of Registration for Foresters, the elder Rice often discussed issues as varied as the Cold War and state politics while taking his twin sons Aaron and Ryan on deer hunts.
"My dad really sparked an interest in politics and public policy issues," Rice said.
Rice, who entered MSU as a freshman in 2002, interrupted his studies to join the U.S. Marine Corps. As a lance corporal, he was deployed in 2005 to Iraq's Al Anbar Province, where the Humvee in which he was a passenger was struck by a land mine early into his tour. The loss of the lower part of his left leg led to months of rehabilitation at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Now active with the use of prosthesis, Rice says the experience "forced me to grow up. He continued: "My military service, my resulting injuries, and the fact that I'm married have given me a more mature outlook."
The 23-year-old said that the Truman application process and interview preparation are rigorous and "you have to be willing to make the commitment."
A member of MSU's Shackouls Honors College, Rice said he worked closely with college director Nancy McCarley and former Truman Scholar William "Brother" Rogers of the Starkville-based John C. Stennis Center for Public Service.
"They were tremendously helpful," Rice said, adding that he felt well prepared despite many tough policy questions during the interview. "It was more of a conversation," he observed.
McCarley said Rice has established himself as "a campus leader who balances academic achievements and voluntary contributions." She adds: "As a consequence of his military service, his perspectives are global, but his professional goals are focused and purposeful."
Rice served this year as Student Association attorney general. In addition to being a Stennis Scholar in Political Science, he also is among only 30 students selected for the inaugural class of the campus-based Appalachian Leadership Honors Program, which was established last year by Foglesong.
The very active Rice enjoys snowboarding and rock climbing, which are among other things for which he has a passion.
"I'm happy the committee found value in what I've done with my life, and I'm honored to bring this recognition to Mississippi State," he said.