April 15, 2021
U of M Twin Cities student Gurtaran Johal. Please contact Kat Dodge at kdodge@umn.edu for multimedia assets.
University of Minnesota Twin Cities junior Gurtaran Johal has been named a 2021 Truman Scholar. The Truman Scholarship, one of the most prestigious awards for undergraduates, recognizes outstanding leaders who plan to devote their careers to public service. Johal is one of 62 Scholars selected this year from 845 candidates nominated by 328 colleges and universities in the United States.
Johal has been a campus leader since her first semester, when she interned with the Minnesota Student Association and led an initiative to build campus unity. As a sophomore she chaired the University’s Sexual Assault Task Force and helped to create the “It Stops Here” campaign to combat sexual misconduct. Alicia Leizinger of the Boynton Health Center, who worked with Johal on the President’s Initiative to Prevent Sexual Misconduct (PIPSM), observes that she is “not only deeply dedicated to this difficult issue, but brings hope and creativity to the work.”