West Point Cadet Named Truman Scholar

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation recently announced that Cadet Felita Zhang, Class of 2022, a Life Sciences major from San Jose, California, earned a Truman Scholarship.

Zhang is one of 62 Truman Scholars selected from 845 candidates nominated by 328 colleges and universities, a record number of applicants.

“The hard work and dedication of our cadets continues to receive great recognition in national and international scholarship competitions,” said U.S. Military Academy Dean of the Academic Board Brig. Gen. Cindy Jebb. “This most recent announcement of Cadet Zhang as a Truman scholar and being named a Goldwater Scholar earlier this spring speaks to her character, intellect, and accomplishments. She is an outstanding young scholar, and we are incredibly proud that as a U.S. Army officer she’ll continue to advance her academic studies following graduation.”

Zhang is a first generation American raised in the United States and China. She was born in San Jose, California, but attended middle school in Shenzhen, China, where she learned more about women’s health and reproductive health education. Zhang’s experience in China motivated her to pursue a career in healthcare leadership, serving the U.S. Army and women in developing communities. She is the president of West Point’s American Chemical Society chapter and is also a researcher with West Point’s Multifunctional Materials Laboratory where she is developing cost effective, readily deployable technology such as biosensors to monitor maternal health. Her goal is to decrease maternal mortality in the Asia Pacific through establishing maternal health education programs for healthcare providers, while providing them with the latest biomedical technology. After West Point, Zhang hopes to pursue an MD and a Doctor of Public Health with a focus on women’s healthcare policy.

Awarded during the junior year, the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, established by Congress in 1975, is the premier nationally competitive scholarship for young Americans committed to public service leadership. Recipients of the Truman Scholarship receive a $30,000 scholarship toward graduate school and the opportunity to participate in professional development programming to help prepare them for careers in public service leadership.

 Since its creation in 1975, the Truman Scholarship Foundation has supported almost 3,000 Truman scholars who are making a difference in all corners of the nation and around the globe. Truman Scholarships provide exceptional professional development opportunities for the recipients and enhance the contributions West Point graduates make to the Army and the nation.

West Point cadets have earned 39 Truman Scholarships since first competing in 1992.

About West Point

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point is a four-year, co-educational, federal, liberal arts college located 50 miles north of New York City. It was founded in 1802 as America’s first college of engineering and continues today as the world’s premier leader-development institution, consistently ranked among top colleges in the country. Its mission remains constant—to educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned leader of character committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the nation as an officer in the U. S. Army. For more information, go to www.westpoint.edu.