Sandrien "Sandy" Mekany on Wednesday became San Diego State University's first recipient of the Harry S. Truman graduate scholarship, one of 62 in the nation.
Mekany, a San Diego native, is just the fourth California State University student to receive the scholarship and the first since 2006. A total of 199 finalists were winnowed down to the 62 officially announced Wednesday.
She is the daughter of Arabic-speaking Chaldean refugees who fled Iraq during Saddam Hussein's regime. She said she struggled to pick up the English language and faced discrimination due to her background in the years following 9/11 and the War on Terror.
"I was too scared to speak up, because who's going to defend me? I'm a little kid," Mekany said. "I wanted to meet the idea of what was considered `American enough' in the eyes of my peers and my community."
She credits that experience with her drive to improve situations for others who "were once in my shoes," she said in her scholarship application.
Mekany is a senior and an Associated Students officer whose extracurricular activities include mentoring and tutoring younger students for the International Rescue Committee, a non-profit focused on refugees, migrants and asylum seekers.
"The biggest thing that I want to do is work in a career where I'm able to advocate for minority students to ensure that they have equitable educational opportunities," she said.
Mekany received the award in an unannounced visit to her political science class last Thursday from SDSU President Adela de la Torre, Provost Salvador Hector Ochoa and other school officials, according to the university.
"Sandy's an incredibly hard-working scholar," de la Torre said. "She is clearly passionate about the issue of educational access and equity, particularly for those whose voices are seldom heard.
"Her capacity for hard work, for strategy and selflessness of service energizes those around her," de la Torre continued. "She has made history representing SDSU as our first Truman Scholar. We are so fortunate to share in her bright light and accomplishments."
The federally funded scholarship comes with an award of up to $30,000 for graduate or professional school studies.
"We have confidence that these 62 new Trumans will meet their generation's challenges together," said Terry Babcock-Lumish, the Harry S. Truman Foundation's executive secretary and a 1996 Truman Scholar from Pennsylvania. "Selected from across America, the 2023 Truman Scholars reflect our country as innovative, purposeful, patriotic problem-solvers, never shying away from a challenge."
