Students hit scholarship trifecta

With the University’s steady rise in collegiate standings in recent years, it shouldn’t… With the University’s steady rise in collegiate standings in recent years, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Pitt students snagged three of the nation’s most prestigious scholarships this year for their commitments to research and volunteerism.

Pitt junior Eleanor Ott received the 2008 Harry S. Truman scholarship for her academic record and work with local refugees, while junior Charles Sleasman and sophomore Todd Moyle won 2008 Barry M. Goldwater scholarships for their separate research projects.

The Truman scholarship is awarded to no more than 65 college juniors each year. Congress established the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation in 1974 to honor students with strong leadership potential. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is currently the president of the organization.

Ott triple majors in chemistry, history and French. Her passion for helping refugees is evident in her involvement with FORGE Pitt, or Facilitating Opportunities for Refugee Growth and Empowerment, where she is one of the group’s co-presidents and the education chair.

“Refugees are some of the most vulnerable people in the world. They’re left without a country and are often denied some of the most basic human rights, such as the right to travel, the right to education and the right to find work because they live on camps,” Ott said.

Since her freshman year at Pitt, Ott has worked with refugees from Burundi, Burma and Somalia. She is fluent in French, has experience with Arabic and studied Swahili for one year. Her knowledge of Swahili helps her communicate with a Burundian family she helps.

Recently she took the family of seven to the grocery store for the first time. Ott said it was an incredible experience watching the family’s awe of the store’s workings.

Ott is proud of the $30,000 scholarship, which must be used for graduate school. However, she explained that the award is about more than just money. The recipients are guaranteed 10-week internships in Washington, D.C., after graduation and also write policy proposals, participate in the Truman Scholars Leadership Week and join the Truman network of scholars.

After graduating from Pitt, Ott plans to pursue international affairs or public and nonprofit management. Her dream is to become the high commissioner for refugees in the United Nations.

The Goldwater scholarships are awarded to sophomores and juniors studying mathematics, natural sciences and engineering. The 300 Goldwater scholars receive $7,500 per year for two years to help pay for tuition, room and board and books.

Sleasman, a math and physics double major, wrote an essay about his work researching materials for quantum computers, which are theoretical mechanisms that could potentially be used for breaking codes.

During Sleasman’s freshman year at Pitt, he worked alongside Professor Jeremy Levy.

He received work-study compensation during his first term and the past two summers.

Since then, Sleasman has been volunteering five to 10 hours a week to work with Levy.

“You don’t need a lot of prior knowledge. You can learn what you need to learn in the lab,” Sleasman said. “You’d be surprised how many professors would work with undergraduates if they knew there was interest.”

Moyle is a chemical engineering major and has been working with Professor Eugene Wagner since his freshman year.

Wagner and Moyle are known for their work developing an alternative to biodiesel that is more environmentally friendly and can be used in existing vehicle engines.

Sleasman aspires to get a doctoral degree and a job that will allow him to conduct research in physics.

He is considering applying to Pitt’s graduate program, but his recent study abroad has made him curious about what other opportunities are available.

“I got to study at Oxford University for one trimester. It’s an entirely different education system there, even different from other places in the U.K.,” Sleasman said.

“I met with a tutor one-on-one each week and got a large assignment for the week. When I turned it in, I couldn’t just be right. I had to defend every step that I did.”

Sleasman attended Christ College, one of the 39 schools in Oxford University.

At Oxford, Sleasman enjoyed singing in the Oxford choir.

However, he mostly prides himself on his drumming skills as a member of Pitt’s drumline.

Though Moyle does not have much spare time, he likes to play soccer. Recently, he joined the engineers’ honor society, Tau Beta Pi.

Moyle plans to obtain a master’s degree either in pharmaceutical engineering or organic chemistry.

He is contemplating getting a doctorate in medicine in clinical trials and research rather than practicing medicine. Ultimately he would like to research and develop better ways to make drugs.

“A majority would be developing new drugs, but with a chemical engineering background I hope to work on how to manufacture them on a large scale. That’s one of the main problems with the drug industry,” Moyle said.

He believes that anyone who has the opportunity should get involved with a research project.

Citing his project studying potential fuel viscosity, Moyle said that his experience at Pitt was the reason he obtained his next position researching better blends for fuel this summer.

Excellence in chemical engineering might run in the Moyle family. Moyle’s father is a chemical engineer and his grandfather was a chemical engineering professor at Lehigh University.

“So I’m like a third-generation chemical engineer,” Moyle said. “I never got to meet my grandfather, but my grandmother always says that he’d be proud of me.”