Joanna Foote (SFS ’13) was awarded the Harry S. Truman Scholarship for the state of Colorado Friday.

“For me now to have $30,000 for grad school is very humbling,” Foote said. “I am very excited, but it doesn’t make me forget the realities of the world.”

Foote took a leave of absence last fall to spend the semester on the U.S.-Mexico border, working with young adults who had dropped out of school to help support their families.

With the scholarship, Foote plans to attend graduate school to study social anthropology and geography in order to research immigration. She hopes to use her graduate degree to advocate for immigrant rights.

“Ultimately, when you win the scholarship it becomes about yourself, but it’s not like that for me,” Foote said. “It’s more about these immigrant communities that I’ve served and the people I care about, and this is my chance to help them.”

The Truman Scholarship Foundation received 587 applications this year and chose the 60 winners from a pool of 191 finalists after an extensive interview and application process.

This year, Foote was one of two Georgetown students to be named finalists for the award, which provides students who demonstrate strong records in public service with $30,000 toward graduate studies. The university has produced a total of 26 Truman Scholars, with the last recipient before Foote, Sebastian Johnson (COL ’10), winning in 2009.