Mat Goldberg is what many people would consider an exemplary Elon University student.
He is a Periclean Scholar, a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa leadership honor society and a social justice chair. He has interned at both the Interactive Resource Center in Greensboro and Elon University’s own Hillel. During his time at Elon, Goldberg has sustained great achievements. However, Goldberg is now on the verge of what may be the greatest achievement of his academic career: He is a finalist for the Truman Scholarship award.
The Harry S. Truman Scholarship is a competitive national scholarship competition held annually by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. Each year the foundation awards 60 to 65 students a $30,000 award for graduate study. In Elon’s history, only one student has won the award: Breanna Detwiler, class of 2009.
Goldberg said he originally wasn’t going to apply.
“I wasn’t even going to apply but one of my friends said, ‘Why not?,’” he said.
Even after applying, Goldberg wasn’t very optimistic about his chances. Due to the quantity of students applying, he was forced to compete with students at the Elon level before he moved to the national competition.
“I didn’t even expect to get pass the Elon round,” Goldberg said.
The Truman Scholarship is granted to college juniors for demonstrated leadership potential and a commitment to public service. Goldberg has extensive experience in both of those categories. He is an Isabella Cannon Leadership Fellow and, as a senior director, oversees the development and implementing of Elon‘s Leadership and Development Program. Goldberg is also the co-founder and president of the Handmade Co-Op. The organization has a special partnership with downtown Burlington and fosters the creation and reselling of art to help revitalize the area.
[quote]I would be very blessed and very honored and thankful to Elon for all the help it’s given me" -- Mat Goldberg, Truman Scholarship finalist [/quote]
The application process was rigorous. This year, the foundation received more than 600 applications from more than 200 colleges and universities. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and full-time students in their junior year of college. There are a variety of requirements that must be met in order to be considered. Among these are required extracurricular activities, leadership potential and commitment to working in public service.
According to Goldberg, receiving the scholarship would be a dream come true.
“I would be very blessed and very honored and thankful to Elon for all the help it’s given me,” he said.
Goldberg plans to attend graduate school for psychology. In the coming weeks, he will be going to Atlanta, Ga. for his final interview. The winners of the award will be announced April 11.