Education: Watanabe Wins Truman Scholarship

West Los Angeles resident Maika Watanabe, a student at Swarthmore College, has won the prestigious Truman Scholarship, given by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. Of 1,400 applicants nationwide, only 89 students win the $30,000 scholarship each year to attend graduate school in the field of public service.

Watanabe, 21, is enrolled in a semester and summer abroad program in Tuebingen, Germany, where she volunteers at a center for Bosnian refugee children. The scholarship is awarded to college juniors who maintain a minimum grade-point average of 3.75 and demonstrate a dedication to public service.