For 4th straight year, U. has Harry S. Truman Scholarship winner

SALT LAKE CITY — For the fourth consecutive year, a University of Utah student has received a prestigious national scholarship for graduate studies.

Cody Scott Rogers, who studies political science and campaign management at the U., represents the state as a recipient of the 2010 Harry S. Truman Scholarship. He is one of 54 scholars selected from 176 finalists who were culled from more than 3,500 student applications from 283 colleges and universities nationwide.

Rogers' selection puts the U. on a list of only seven institutions in America to produce a scholar in each of the last four years.

"This is both an extraordinary honor and a remarkable tribute to the accomplishments of Cody Rogers and the Hinckley Institute of Politics," said U. President Michael K. Young. "The Truman scholarship is exceptionally competitive and selective, and honors the finest students in our nation for their outstanding academic achievement, community leadership and commitment to public service."

Rogers, a native of Utah, has interned in Washington, D.C., and has been working as an aide to Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, for the past two years. Rogers has also been active in student government at the U., helped to register hundreds of students to vote and worked on a number of campaigns, including Mitt Romney's drive for the presidency. Rogers plans to graduate in May 2011 and attend law school, where he hopes to earn a juris doctorate, as well as a master's of public administration degree.

The scholarship will provide Rogers with $30,000 for graduate study, as well as reserve priority admission and supplemental financial aid at some premier schools. He is also eligible for leadership training, career and education counseling and special fellowship opportunities within the federal government.

"This is not just an award for me," Rogers said. "It is an award for all those who helped me along the way and pushed me and inspired me to be the person they knew I could be. … Now, I have to put my ideas into action. I have to keep working to make a difference in the world."

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