Tenzin Seldon, a junior at Stanford University and a first generation Tibetan American, has been announced as one of the winners of the prestigious Truman Scholarship.
The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation announced that 60 students from 54 US colleges and universities were selected as 2011 Truman Scholars. The 60 Scholars were selected from among 602 candidates nominated by 264 colleges and universities. Each Scholarship provides up to $30,000 for graduate study.
Recipients must be US citizens, have outstanding leadership potential and communication skills, be in the top quarter of their class, and be committed to careers in government or the not-for-profit sector.
“This is a historic moment for my community and my people,” Seldon said of the Truman Scholarship. “It’s beyond me and my achievements. It speaks to the achievements of how far the first generation of Tibetans in America has come. It is a testament to activists around the world who have faced a lot of cynicism for the work they do and the danger they expose themselves to.”
Seldon served as regional coordinator for Students for a Free Tibet, overseeing chapters in California, Hawaii and Nevada. During that time, she also served as San Francisco Team Tibet executive during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, bringing global attention to issues of human rights in China.
Seldon currently works as a fellow at the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, where she focuses on fostering a climate of happiness and health and well-being on campus. She was a key organizer of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit to campus last October and, as president of Stanford Friends of Tibet, organized a dialogue between His Holiness and mainland Chinese students and scholars, which took place off campus.
As a Summer Fellow with the Haas Center for Public Service, Seldon designed and developed a program that added critical thinking and public speaking to the curriculum at a refugee school in India.
At Stanford, she serves as chair of the ASSU Diversity, Tolerance and Equality Team, and has worked to improve the experience of first-generation, low-income students.
Seldon, who is currently running for student body president at Stanford, hopes to work in foreign service as a diplomat or as an elected official in the Tibetan government.
Seldon’s father, Mr. Ngodup Tsering, was a Secretary at Department of Education in the Central Tibetan Administration as well as a Member of the Tibetan parliament.
