Junior Nada Zohdy is MSU's 16th recipient of the Truman Scholarship. Photo by G. L. Kohuth

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EAST LANSING, Mich. — It’s not all that unusual for Michigan State University President Lou Anna K. Simon to visit a classroom now and then. But when she stopped into professor Louis Hunt’s politics and post-colonialism class on Tuesday, it was for more than just a friendly visit.

Simon surprised junior Nada Zohdy with the news that she is MSU’s latest recipient of a Truman Scholarship, a prestigious award given to students who have extensive records of public and community service.

An international relations major in MSU’s James Madison College, Zohdy is MSU’s 16th Truman Scholar. Students earning the scholarship receive $30,000 to be used for graduate study.

Zohdy said she was surprised to see the president of the university in her classroom. At the same time, it tipped her off that she just might have won the scholarship.

“I was sort of suspicious,” she said. “I just had a feeling I might have won.”

After earning her bachelor’s degree from MSU, Zohdy plans to earn a master’s degree in public policy and a doctorate in comparative government. Her ultimate goal is to work for the State Department or a nongovernmental agency.

“Eventually I hope to work with the State Department on policy issues related to the Middle East. That’s where my biggest interest is,” she said. “Also for a long time I’ve been toying with this idea of being a scholar-activist. I think that’s something I’d like to try, as well as explore the world of think tanks.”

In her time at MSU, Zohdy has been active in a number of public service activities, including serving as vice president and political action chair of the Muslim Students Association; co-founder and campus coordinator of the “Peace over Prejudice” campaign; chapter coordinator of Amnesty International; and co-founder of the Women’s Faith Forum.

It was her dedication to public service, said Honors College Dean Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore that made Zohdy so worthy of the scholarship.

“Nada has incredible depth and passion and a remarkable commitment to lifelong public service,” Jackson-Elmoore said. “She is already demonstrating the capacity to be an engaged scholar who uses innovative ideas, concepts and insights from research to positively impact people, organizations and communities.” 

Zohdy also served as an undergraduate research assistant in a neuroscience research lab. 

“She was able to do this because she received a professorial assistantship which is granted to incoming freshman who are invited to join the Honors College and are in the top 1 percent of high school seniors in the nation,” Jackson-Elmoore said. “There is something about MSU that creates and fosters an environment where students like Nada and other Truman Scholars, past, present and future, can excel.”

Zohdy has had two papers published in peer review journals: The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences (2008) and the Michigan State Undergraduate Historical Journal (2007).

She is a graduate of Rochester Adams High School, where she was leader of the debate team; co-editor of “Expressions” magazine, a publication for Detroit-area Muslim Youth; public relations co-chair of the Michigan Muslim Youth Council; and played on the varsity soccer team.

She is the daughter of Hoda Abdel-Aty-Zohdy and Mohamed Zohdy.

MSU has had 16 Truman Scholars since 1979. In 2007 the university was honored as a Truman Foundation Honor Institution which recognizes institutions that have made exceptional contributions to the Truman Scholarship Foundation.

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