HomeNews

News Search

Civil engineer wins prestigious Truman Scholarship

By Tech. Sgt. Mark Wyatt, 157th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs / Published February 05, 2012

PRINT | E-MAIL
PEASE AIR NATIONAL GUARD, N.H. -- A N.H. Air National Guard civil engineer and a junior at the University of New Hampshire has been selected as a 2011 Truman Scholar, a prestigious national award that provides $30,000 for a graduate education.

Senior Airman Brooks Payette was competitively selected as one of 60 recipients who were awarded the scholarship last year. Payette competed against 602 applicants from 264 colleges and universities around the country.

Scholarships are given to those who demonstrate outstanding leadership and commitment to public service.

Payette, a nontraditional student majoring in political science, is the first UNH student to be awarded funding from the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, established in 1975 as a memorial to the 33rd president.

The Scholarship is awarded to college juniors with exceptional leadership potential who are committed to careers in government, nonprofit or advocacy sectors, education or elsewhere in public service.

It is governed by a 13-member Board of Trustees headed by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who says the foundation "serves as a gateway for America's public service leaders" and "does a remarkable job of identifying future change agents."

Eight board members are appointed by the U.S. President, including a state governor, a city or county chief executive, a federal judge, a state judge, a representative of higher education, and three members of the public.

The competitive selection process requires a strong record of public service, as well as a policy proposal that addresses a particular issue in society. Payette's proposal, addressed to the U.S. Department of Education, urges an increase of physical fitness activities in schools to address and combat childhood obesity.

Payette, a civil engineer with the 157th Air Refueling Wing Civil Engineer Squadron since 2008, transferred to UNH in 2009 after a six-year break from education.

"To say receiving the Truman Scholarship is an honor is an understatement. This selection puts me in an inspiring association of people who have made a difference in public service," said Payette. "What makes it even more special is being the first UNH recipient ever. In a way, I feel like it is something I can give back to a university that has provided so many opportunities for me."

Payette will attend the Truman Summer Institute this summer.

After completing further education, the Berlin native plans to work in the area of public education with a focus on children's health, specifically addressing childhood obesity.
USAF Comments Policy
If you wish to comment, use the text box below. AF reserves the right to modify this policy at any time.

This is a moderated forum. That means all comments will be reviewed before posting. In addition, we expect that participants will treat each other, as well as our agency and our employees, with respect. We will not post comments that contain abusive or vulgar language, spam, hate speech, personal attacks, violate EEO policy, are offensive to other or similar content. We will not post comments that are spam, are clearly "off topic", promote services or products, infringe copyright protected material, or contain any links that don't contribute to the discussion. Comments that make unsupported accusations will also not be posted. The AF and the AF alone will make a determination as to which comments will be posted. Any references to commercial entities, products, services, or other non-governmental organizations or individuals that remain on the site are provided solely for the information of individuals using this page. These references are not intended to reflect the opinion of the AF, DoD, the United States, or its officers or employees concerning the significance, priority, or importance to be given the referenced entity, product, service, or organization. Such references are not an official or personal endorsement of any product, person, or service, and may not be quoted or reproduced for the purpose of stating or implying AF endorsement or approval of any product, person, or service.

Any comments that report criminal activity including: suicidal behaviour or sexual assault will be reported to appropriate authorities including OSI. This forum is not:

  • This forum is not to be used to report criminal activity. If you have information for law enforcement, please contact OSI or your local police agency.
  • Do not submit unsolicited proposals, or other business ideas or inquiries to this forum. This site is not to be used for contracting or commercial business.
  • This forum may not be used for the submission of any claim, demand, informal or formal complaint, or any other form of legal and/or administrative notice or process, or for the exhaustion of any legal and/or administrative remedy.

AF does not guarantee or warrant that any information posted by individuals on this forum is correct, and disclaims any liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on any such information. AF may not be able to verify, does not warrant or guarantee, and assumes no liability for anything posted on this website by any other person. AF does not endorse, support or otherwise promote any private or commercial entity or the information, products or services contained on those websites that may be reached through links on our website.

Members of the media are asked to send questions to the public affairs through their normal channels and to refrain from submitting questions here as comments. Reporter questions will not be posted. We recognize that the Web is a 24/7 medium, and your comments are welcome at any time. However, given the need to manage federal resources, moderating and posting of comments will occur during regular business hours Monday through Friday. Comments submitted after hours or on weekends will be read and posted as early as possible; in most cases, this means the next business day.

For the benefit of robust discussion, we ask that comments remain "on-topic." This means that comments will be posted only as it relates to the topic that is being discussed within the blog post. The views expressed on the site by non-federal commentators do not necessarily reflect the official views of the AF or the Federal Government.

To protect your own privacy and the privacy of others, please do not include personally identifiable information, such as name, Social Security number, DoD ID number, OSI Case number, phone numbers or email addresses in the body of your comment. If you do voluntarily include personally identifiable information in your comment, such as your name, that comment may or may not be posted on the page. If your comment is posted, your name will not be redacted or removed. In no circumstances will comments be posted that contain Social Security numbers, DoD ID numbers, OSI case numbers, addresses, email address or phone numbers. The default for the posting of comments is "anonymous", but if you opt not to, any information, including your login name, may be displayed on our site.

Thank you for taking the time to read this comment policy. We encourage your participation in our discussion and look forward to an active exchange of ideas.