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Junior cadet selected as Academy’s 24th Truman Scholar

Isobel Dernian
Cadet 2nd Class Isobel Dernlan, recipient of the Truman Scholarship

U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet 2nd Class Isobel Dernlan, Class of 2024, has been selected to receive the highly competitive Harry S. Truman Scholarship. The junior was named among 62 Truman Scholars selected from 705 applicants nominated by 275 colleges, universities and military service academies.

The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation selects Truman Scholars from finalists who demonstrate outstanding leadership potential, a commitment to a career in government or the nonprofit sector, as well as academic excellence. Each Truman Scholar receives funding for graduate studies, leadership training, career counseling and special internship and fellowship opportunities within the federal government.

“Isobel is a generational talent with a unique ability to galvanize everything she touches — from academics and research to leadership and volunteer work — all underscored by her dedication to serve others,” said Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre, the Academy’s dean of the faculty. “Her award of a Truman Scholarship not only marks her as a rising star at the national level, but also reflects the mentorship of countless faculty members and military leaders who enabled Isobel’s research, supported her leadership development, and propelled her efforts to give voice to the disempowered around the world. We are proud of her accomplishments and can’t wait to see her impact on the world.”

Dernlan is a double major in political science and foreign area studies who plans to pursue a degree in international security and foreign service. The St. Louis native hopes to serve as an Air Force intelligence officer and eventually serve as a foreign area officer following her post-graduate program.

She is the 24th Truman Scholar from the U.S. Air Force Academy; the first was retired Maj. John Carr, Class of 1994.

“I’m so incredibly grateful for the scholarship to continue my education, but I’m most excited for the community of past and present Truman Scholars that I will be joining,” said Dernlan. “I have so much to learn from this association of dedicated public servants, and I’m eager to make my own contributions as well. The opportunities and mentors with which the Academy has provided me, as well as the support of my loved ones, has been invaluable in helping me get to this point.”