MSU’s 2007 Truman Scholar connects people, places, concepts Contact: Ronald Fisher, MSU Honors College: (517) 355-2326, fisherr1@msu.edu; or Kristin K. Anderson, University Relations: (517) 353-8819, ander284@msu.edu
(Editor’s note: An electronic photo of Monica Mukerjee is available from Pam Jahnke at jahnkep@msu.edu.)
March 29, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. — “I’m really a Truman Scholar?”
Monica Mukerjee, of Canton, thinks of herself as a connector of people, places and concepts.
However, it took a few moments for the Michigan State University junior to realize MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon wasn’t kidding when she informed Mukerjee that yes, she really was a Truman Scholar for 2007. Simon and other MSU faculty joined in a surprise scholarship announcement with Mukerjee March 16.
“This scholarship is a recognition of the work I do now, and the work I will do following graduation,” Mukerjee said.
She is pursuing degrees in international relations and psychology in the James Madison College and College of Social Science, respectively. The Honors College student is the daughter of Rahul and Indrani Mukerjee, and is a 2004 graduate of Salem High School. She is one of 75 college juniors nationwide to be named a Truman Scholar this year. Mukerjee is MSU’s 15th Truman Scholar.
Mukerjee is passionate about her plans to give voice to those who can’t make policies that affect or guide their lives.
Her volunteer service as a sexual assault and crisis counselor at the Listening Ear Crisis Intervention Center in Lansing and as a medical advocate in the Sparrow Hospital’s Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program, combined with her MSU studies and international research, helped her define her chosen path.
“I first came to MSU and the James Madison College to study international relations because I was interested in the topics of conflict and war,” she said. “I was shocked to learn in my first year about the sexual exploitation of refugees and women and what happens to them during war time.
“I also was interested in psychology. MSU faculty piqued my interests and helped me make connections between my divergent interests and connect the dots from a multidisciplinary perspective.”
Although gender is increasingly being addressed in international development, women continue to suffer devastating social inequalities that stem from violations of human rights, Mukerjee said.
Through the Ronald E. McNair Research and Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program at MSU, she developed a typology, or systematic classification, as to how sexual violence is used as a weapon of war in international conflicts and applied it to her studies on the Sudan, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly known as Zaire.
“By labeling and characterizing various types of sexual violence, my method of rape categorization draws commonalities while distinguishing differences of rape in conflicts,” she said.
She will use her research techniques in her studies of the psychological effects of rape and violence victims in surviving in Sri Lanken refugee camps and nongovernmental organization facilities while in India this summer.
"Monica is dedicated to improving the status of women around the world," said Honors College Dean Ronald Fisher. "Because of her strong academic record, extensive work studying gender and violence and practical, personal experience as a sexual assault counselor, she has almost boundless potential to become an important leader advocating for improvement of human rights for women and others affected by conflict and neglect."
Her MSU activities include Alternative Spring Break programs in Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Staten Island, N.Y. She was a member of the International Relations Organization, which competes in the collegiate Model United Nations, and the MSU Model United Nations conference for high school delegates. She also is a member of SCOUTBANANA, or Serving Citizens of Uganda Today Because Africa Needs an Ambulance, an organization which provides medical supplies, equipment and ambulances for Ugandan hospitals.
Mukerjee plans to join the Peace Corps following college and pursue her master’s degree in public policy, concentrating on international, economic development and improvement of human rights for women. Her career objectives are to work with a nongovernmental organization to advance economic development and reduce gender based inequalities and violence.
The Truman Scholarship honors former President Harry S. Truman. Students who show exceptional leadership potential and are committed to a career in public service are selected by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation for this award. Scholars receive a $30,000 scholarship toward graduate study and participate in several policy and leadership activities organized by the foundation.
For more information about the scholarship, visit the Web at www.truman.gov/.
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Michigan State University has been advancing knowledge and transforming lives through innovative teaching, research and outreach for more than 150 years. MSU is known internationally as a major public university with global reach and extraordinary impact. Its 16 degree-granting colleges attract scholars worldwide who are interested in combining education with practical problem solving.
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