From Benedict to Harvard

June 1, 2007

(Columbia) -- A rising senior at Benedict College has been chosen as one of fourteen students in the country for a summer internship program at Harvard University.

22-year-old Josh Stroman, a public policy major, says he applied for the Galbraith Scholars Program after doing some late-night research on summer programs at the Ivy League school.

"For me, Harvard symbolized intellectual freedom. It symbolized the ability to think and not let your thoughts be concealed or confined to your race or who you are," said Stroman.

The Galbraith Scholars Program is a highly selective, seminar-style internship program that takes place for one week each June. Since 1999, almost 100 students have gone through the program. It is led by Ivy League scholars, who host discussion sessions with the small group of students on topics relating to inequality and social policy. Galbraith Scholars is also an introduction for minority and lower-income students who wish to apply for top-level graduate programs.

For Josh, the Benedict College student body president, attending Harvard has been a long-time dream.

"He's a very outgoing, very gregarious, very moralistic student. He has some notions about social justice you don't normally see in students," said Dr. Warren Robinson, Dean of the School of Honors at Benedict.

Robinson wrote Josh's recommendation letter, and encouraged him to apply.

"I was like, ´Well, you could go to Harvard,' and he's like, ´You really think I can?' and I said, ´Joshua, you can do anything that you desire to do,'" Dr. Robinson said.

Talking to Josh, it's clear the political science major isn't at a loss for intellectual conversation.

"Which is so great about this program, because you get to take the principals that come with social policy and you get to apply them to various situations," Josh said.

Stroman himself has overcome some tough obstacles in his life, but Dean Robinson says he expects great things from this student.

"He comes from some adverse situations, but he never lets these things become an excuse or a hindrance. You never hear him say, ´Well, I can't do this because I didn't have this in place,' or, ´because I have this particular barrier,'" Dr. Robinson said.

Josh says he hopes to pursue a graduate degree at Harvard focusing on education. He says one day, he might like to work in the non-profit sector.

"Regardless of who we are or where we come from, we have an opportunity to shape someone's life," Stroman said.

Source:

WLTX-TV 19 (wltx.com)
Jennifer Lindgren, Reporter

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