Congratulations to NYU Abu Dhabi junior Alexander Wang, the University's first Truman Scholar and NYU's third since 2007. A prestigious honor awarded on the basis of leadership abilities, potential intellectual achievement, and commitment to a career in public service, the scholarship recognizes Wang's work with migrant worker communities.

A Social Research and Public Policy major, Wang submitted with his application a policy proposal focused on developing a framework to provide institutional support for communities of international migrant workers. In addition to policy work, he established a humanitarian student group at NYUAD that provides assistance to migrant worker communities, both through donation drives and teaching English and other practical skills.

Wang's interest in the international mobility of migrant workers has been inspired by academic and community service engagements in the US, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai, where he spent a semester of study abroad. "Being able to look at global migration in a comparative frame — from places like Abu Dhabi, to Shanghai, to the wider global community — and exploring different modes of mobility have contributed not only to my interest in migration, but to my hope to design some sort of policy for people who are caught between the spaces of nation-states," he said.

This year, 62 Scholars were selected from 629 candidates nominated by 293 colleges and universities. The Scholarship provides up to USD 30,000 toward graduate study, plus leadership advisement and membership in the Truman network of current and future public servants.