Andrea Eggleston, Andrew Kovtun, and Davontae Singleton have each been named a Truman Scholar Finalist. Highly competitive and prestigious, the $30,000 Truman Scholarship is awarded to approximately 60 juniors nationally for superior academic ability, a strong record of service and leadership, and plans for careers in public service.

All three undergraduates are members of the South Carolina Honors College. Kovtun will interview in Cincinnati, OH on March 26, and Eggleston and Singleton will interview in Atlanta, GA on April 2 for the scholarship. This year, 204 finalists have been named from 138 institutions across the US. 

A McNair Scholar (the most prestigious out of state scholarship at USC), Eggleston is pursuing a Biomedical Engineering degree, with minors in Biology, Chemistry, Spanish, and Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior. She has served as the President and Treasurer of USC's chapter of Engineering Without Borders, and traveled to Ecuador to work on their "Group Irrigation and Public Health Project." Eggleston volunteers at the Good Samaritan Dental Clinic Manager, Dental Assistant, and Spanish English Translator, and served as the President of the Predental Club at USC. She plans to pursue a doctorate in dental medicine, and spend her career as a dentist focused on oral health disparities in the United States. 

Kovtun is also a McNair Scholar, and is completing majors in International Business, Economics, and Marketing, with minors in Russian and French. A recent winner of the USC Proving Ground FanFavorite Prize for his creation of the SaleAbroad.com website, Kovtun also hosts the political talk show "Dogma Shwarma" on WUSC FM, is a Viewpoints Staff Writer for the Daily Gamecock, serves as the Business Senator for Student Government, and is the Defense and Diplomacy Chair for the Roosevelt Institute. He plans to become a Foreign Service Economics Officer with the US State Department. 

Singleton plans to complete his undergraduate degree in English with an emphasis on Secondary Education. Executive Director of the Waverly Afterschool Program, he is also president of both Students for Big Brothers Big Sisters and USC's Chapter of No Kid Hungry. He serves as a Big Brother for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Columbia, has been a U101 Peer Leader, and is the Co-Chair of the Student Representative Board of USC Connect. Singleton plans to earn his MT before pursuing a career in teaching English and being an advocate for "At Risk" and high poverty school districts. 

University of South Carolina Truman candidates are evaluated and nominated by a USC scholarship committee, chaired by Professor Shelley Smith in the Department of Sociology. Other members of the University Truman Committee include: David Simmons (Anthropology and Public Health), Steven Burritt (USC 1995 Truman Scholar), George Geckle (English), Don Fowler (Political Science), and Robert Felix (School of Law). 

USC has had six Truman Scholars. Recent USC Truman Scholars include Asma Jaber in 2007, Thomas Scott in 2006, Jeremy Wolfe in 2004, and Lara Bratcher in 2003.