LSU Chemical Engineering Student Nominated for Truman Scholarship

02/15/2017

The LSU Roger Hadfield Ogden Honors College has nominated four LSU students for the prestigious Truman Scholarship., including Michael Denham, a chemical engineering major.

Truman Scholars are offered up to $30,000 for graduate study and are required to work in public service for three of the seven years following completion of their graduate work. To be eligible to apply, students must indicate a desire to work in government, education, the nonprofit sector or the public interest sector, and must have a demonstrated commitment to service. In addition, the scholarship application process requires students to create a public policy that addresses a current public issue. Only 55 to 65 Truman Scholars are selected each year from over 600 applications.

Michael Denham is an Ogden Honors College junior studying chemical engineering and economics. Denham’s policy proposal is to ban direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising in order to reduce prescription drug costs to consumers.

“In today’s health care market, drug companies are able to use their monopolistic position to charge overly high prices for cheaply manufactured drugs,” Denham said. “Such a policy would make it easier for firms to enter the pharmaceutical market, thereby increasing competition and optimally lowering prices.” 

During his time at LSU, Denham has served as a Youth Legislature Lead Advisor for the YMCA Youth & Government program, which aims to teach high school students about the importance of active citizenship and public policy discussion. He also founded the LSU chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) on Campus to raise mental health awareness in the community. 

“Because LSU is so large and has so many resources, there are truly a plethora of opportunities available to get involved in service-oriented activities,” Denham said. “This wide array of programs and events lets you meet like-minded people and helps you truly feel like you’re making a difference in your community.”

After graduation, Denham hopes to attend Harvard Medical School and Harvard Business School’s joint five-year MD/MBA program, concentrating in health care management.  

To learn more about all four LSU students that were nominated, you may read the original article by the LSU Ogden Honors College here.