UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Brenna Fitzpatrick, a third-year undergraduate at Penn State, was named a finalist for the Truman Scholarship for her work in agricultural education and campus food security. The Truman Scholarship, administered by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, is considered the premier graduate scholarship for aspiring public service leaders in the United States, providing selected third-year students with up to $30,000 for graduate or professional school, leadership training and opportunities to network with peers committed to serving the public. This year, 781 students applied from 305 institutions across the United States, with 198 selected as finalists. The finalists, including Fitzpatrick, will interview with the foundation's Regional Review Panels this spring.
Originally from Buffalo, New York, Fitzpatrick is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in plant sciences with a concentration in agroecology through the College of Agricultural Sciences and minoring in environmental soil science, entomology and Spanish.
Fitzpatrick said being selected as a Truman Scholar would support her goal of studying food systems and agricultural extension education in graduate school.
“I believe that change starts locally, and the best way to create change is to engage within your community,” she said. “I hope to empower others to engage with their community and food system, even if their career path isn’t inherently related to agriculture.”
Her journey through Penn State has been shaped by research, public service and a passion for food security and education. Through the Sustainable Food Systems Network, Fitzpatrick and her friends developed lesson plans and created a garden club at Park Forest Elementary School. It gave students the opportunity to plant, tend and harvest in a garden located on school grounds, while also engaging curriculum focused on food literacy and garden education. The project inspired the policy proposal portion of her Truman application.
“Witnessing students grow their understanding and appreciation for agriculture has been the best part of the entire experience,” Fitzpatrick said. “Students’ self-efficacy grew as they sowed seeds, cared for them as they grew, and then were able to enjoy the produce they grew themselves.”
During summer and fall 2025, Fitzpatrick worked as a research intern in the Tooker Entomology Lab, which studies plant-insect interactions in agroecosystems and develops sustainable integrated pest management strategies. One project examined how ants support natural pest control and improve soil health in no-till farming systems. She also tracked goldenrod plants through their entire lifecycle, monitoring caterpillar populations, collecting plant tissue and galls, and studying interactions between plants and parasitic gall flies.
“Not only have I learned hard skills, like collecting samples, setting up experiments and analyzing data, but I also had the opportunity to work directly with graduate students and learn from them,” she said. “Being a part of the preparation and work that it takes to set up experiments was so rewarding.”
On campus, Fitzpatrick took a direct approach to food insecurity through the creation of the Free Fridge Project. A refrigerator in the Agricultural Administration Building is stocked weekly with perishable meals recovered from dining halls through the Food Recovery Network, produce from the Student Farm and catering leftovers contributed by faculty and staff. In its pilot semester, the program kept 96 pounds of produce and 27 meals out of the waste stream.
Knowing that stigma around food insecurity can deter students, she developed an anonymous tracking system so usage data could be collected without identifying anyone who stopped by.
“I am passionate about food security and decreasing food waste,” she said. “Food literacy plays a huge role in food security, as it empowers people to navigate food systems and prepare nutritious meals.”
A Truman Scholarship would help Fitzpatrick with her aspiration to empower others to engage with their community and food system, she said, explaining that her plan is to focus her graduate studies on developing experiential, garden-based curricula for public schools.
“I've witnessed curiosity grow through garden education and earning this award would help me spread opportunities for people to engage thoughtfully with their food system,” she said.
Brenna will participate in an interview with other finalists in New York on April 8.
About the Truman Scholarship
Selection by the Truman Foundation is based on records of leadership, public service and academic achievement.
Students interested in applying for the Truman Scholarship are encouraged to meet with Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Mentoring (URFM) in their first or second year of undergraduate studies to begin preparing.
To apply, students must be a U.S. citizen or a U.S. national from the Pacific Islands; be a college junior with a GPA of 3.7 or higher; plan to attend a professional or graduate school to prepare for a career in government, nonprofit or advocacy sectors; and commit to spending three of the first seven years after graduate or professional school working in public service.
Penn State students interested in this and other funded opportunities that help students achieve their goals are invited to reach out to URFM at urfm@psu.edu.
Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Mentoring, part of Penn State Undergraduate Education, empowers students to engage in inquiry and discovery by connecting them with research opportunities, guiding them through the research landscape and supporting them in pursuing nationally and internationally competitive fellowships.