A Legacy Honor

Fall 2024
By Amy McCaig

Lee Waldman, a Rice senior majoring in sociology and the study of women, gender and sexuality, has been awarded a Truman Scholarship, the premier graduate fellowship in the U.S. for those pursuing careers as leaders in public service. The 60 new Truman Scholars were selected from 709 candidates nominated by 285 colleges and universities.  

The scholarship was established by Congress in 1975 as the living memorial to Harry Truman, carrying the legacy of the 33rd U.S. president by supporting and inspiring the next generation of public service leaders.

Waldman is focusing his Rice studies on women, gender and sexuality to inform his activism in housing justice, which began during his youth in Ithaca, New York. He is a founding member of the Ithaca Youth Action Board, a group of young people working to fight youth homelessness in the community. He and his team members won the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program grant, a multimillion-dollar grant dedicated to elevating the voice of youth in service provision. 

“Protecting marginalized populations is the root of equitable policy,” says Waldman.

After graduating in 2025, Waldman plans to spend his Truman Foundation Summer Institute — a summer in D.C. with the Truman Foundation — working at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. “I look forward to learning from and collaborating with fellow scholars as I move forward with a career in public service,” he says.

“As a trans person living at a time when our rights are under attack, I am proud to now be a part of a scholarly network that impacts policy and service provision across the world,” he adds. 

Waldman says he is especially grateful to Rice’s Center for Civic Leadership for its support throughout the process of pursuing the scholarship. “The CCL is a necessary resource on Rice’s campus for fostering student leadership and civic engagement; I could not be more grateful for their continued belief in me.”