A former graduate of Soldotna High School has been awarded one of the most prestigious scholarships in the nation.
Sarah Mickelson, who graduated from SOHI in 2020, was one of a select few recipients of the Truman Scholarship in April. The Truman Scholarship is a graduate fellowship awarded to undergraduate students who have demonstrated strong leadership potential, academic excellence, and a commitment to public service. Those awarded receive $30,000 toward a public service-related graduate degree.
“When I heard about the Truman, my advisor called me, and she was crying,” Mickelson said. “I was her first ever Truman winner. I started crying too of course, you know, I just felt really relieved, but also very excited because I know now that law school is going to be more affordable, and now I have opportunities that will make it easier to actually get to law school.”
Sarah received a bachelors degree in political science from the University of Texas at El Paso this year, but she grew up in Soldotna. The Soldotna graduate and once Mickelson finishes law school, she plans to come back to Anchorage to work as a public defender.
Her father and mother, Chris and Liz, still live here in Soldotna, along with her younger brother, Levi.
“It’s exciting stuff for her. We’re obviously very proud of her; she’s worked hard,” said her father, Chris, who is the Medical Director for the Emergency Department at Central Peninsula Hospital. “She was awarded that Truman scholarship, which was pretty competitive. You have to be nominated by your school and then every college in the nation throws somebody out there, and then they narrow it down. They select about 60, so it’s pretty competitive. It’s a nice award.”
The scholarship is an honor which Sarah says she is both proud and humbled by. But she’s not done yet. Mickelson is also a finalist for the Rhodes and Marshall Scholarships, both as prestigious as the Truman, if not more. Rhodes and Marshal scholars receive the honor of pursuing their doctorate education abroad at the University of Oxford (Rhodes), or the Universities of Manchester and Cambridge (Marshall).
Sarah finds out in two weeks if she is a recipient of the Rhodes scholarship.
