Simone Delerme of Wilmington is the University of Delaware's latest winner of a prestigious Truman Fellowship, a $30,000 merit-based award to be used for graduate study. Delerme is a junior simultaneously working toward a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in liberal studies.

Sixty-four students from 54 U.S. colleges and universities were selected for the honor from 590 nominees.

Academically inclined from an early age, Delerme credits her parents, Carol and Joe Delerme of Wilmington, with making her academic dreams possible.

"My family has been very supportive even if at times they haven't understood what I felt I had to do," the first-generation college student said. Lately, that has included supporting her desires to conduct street interviews in East Harlem, N.Y., and study for a semester at the University of Havana in Cuba.

Joe, a retired computer database manager, and Carol, a pharmaceutical sales representative, urged their daughter to become a lawyer or an engineer, Delerme said. Her goal of becoming a college professor is a little unsettling for them.

"They wanted me to go to college for four years and come out with the concrete skills to get a specific job," she said. "The things I want to do are new for them, but they are always very encouraging. I'm so blessed that way. Because the Hispanic community does not have a tradition of higher education, many families hold their young women back. My parents have always been open to new ideas."

The Hispanic community, locally and globally, is Delerme's passion and something she promotes in ways large and small. Whether it is bonding with three other UD students to start a chapter of a national Hispanic service sorority, volunteering at Wilmington's Latin American Community Center or delivering a paper at an international conference in Puerto Rico, her goal of celebrating Hispanic identity and culture remains the same.

Initially disappointed that UD did not offer a major in Caribbean studies, Delerme sought out individual professors with Hispanic specialties and asked them to sponsor her in independent study. When they agreed, she was able to put together her own minor in Latin American studies. When she learned that UD's Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program would allow her to pursue in-depth study in an area of her choice, she put together a second academic plan to pursue her interest in Caribbean studies and ethnic identity.

Because of her interest and undergraduate research into the Puerto Rican community, she said she will probably pursue her doctorate at a university near a large Puerto Rican population, perhaps studying somewhere in New York City.

"Initially, my interest in the Hispanic community started as a sort of search for self," she explained. Although she excelled as a student at Padua Academy in Wilmington, she longed for classes and discussions about her Hispanic heritage, a desire made stronger by the school's public service graduation requirement, which she fulfilled by volunteering at the Latin American Community Center. She's continued her volunteer work while at UD and has been a driving force in opening new possibilities for Hispanic students at UD.

President David P. Roselle wrote in his letter of nomination to the Truman Foundation, "Simone has assessed our institutional needs for improvement by careful analysis, patiently laid the necessary groundwork for a starting place, drawn together people who, without her initiative, would not have met one another or could actually be in conflict, and institutionalized change.

"The improvements she has already made in the University community will enrich our common life long after Simone herself has graduated...."

The letter continues: "The University of Delaware has a strong commitment to diversify its student body and particularly hopes to form relationships between the University and the Hispanic community in the state that will eventually lead young Hispanics seriously and without apprehension to consider finishing high school and going on to college. Simone Delerme has in her short time here moved us farther along toward this goal than we would have imagined possible. It is not just that she has provided a role model of a strikingly successful first-generation Latina student, although she has done this. What further she has done is something we could not have planned.

"We have been aware of our need to earn the confidence of Latino citizens of the state, who for the most part now feel no connection to the University. Simone showed us that there is also a need for intentional effective community building among the Hispanic members of the University itself, including students at all levels as well as our faculty of Hispanic origin, and that connections between Hispanic members of the University and the local Hispanic community must and can be built."

Maria Palacas, director of the McNair Scholars Program at UD and a personal mentor to Delerme, wrote in her recommendation letter, "As a volunteer intern at the Latin American Community Center, Simone gives freely of her time and service, taking clients to court to help them understand legal proceedings, educating youth about opportunities afforded by higher education and assisting immigrants who struggle to acclimate to American life.... Simone continues to develop and implement policies that affect the everyday lives of Hispanics in Wilmington, Del. She has worked diligently to establish and sustain the Youth Empowerment Task Force, a task force designed to encourage and empower youth through the processes of intellectual, social and emotional development, including awareness of the benefits of higher education.

"I have witnessed her exemplary tact and sensitivity in dealing with issues of education and ethnicity.... She believes not only in making a difference one person at a time, but also in working toward changing policies that hinder equal access to opportunity, especially in higher education and especially among Hispanics. Most significantly, Simone acts on her beliefs. Her very best qualities--integrity of the deepest sort, vision and high intellectual ability--are dwarfed by her unassuming kind-heartedness and her desire to impact the world for good."

The Ronald E. McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement program seeks to improve effective preparation for doctoral study by low-income, first-generation college students and students from groups that are underrepresented in graduate education. UD's McNair Scholars Program is one of 156 such programs nationwide.

Delerme's other UD activities include working as an Americorps Mentor for the Louis Redding Junior Scholars Program, where she helps high school students interested in law and social justice conduct research; working as a peer tutor in the Honors Writing Fellows Program; and serving as the student representative for the Delaware State TRIO Organization, which oversees the McNair Scholars Program and other U.S. Department of Education initiatives for underrepresented and/or underprivileged segments of society.

Additionally, she was instrumental in organizing UD's first Hispanic Heritage Month, which offered a variety of academic and cultural activities for the campus.

Her summer research for the McNair Scholars Program on the problem of identity for Puerto Ricans living in small and mid-sized metropolitan areas of the U.S., resulted in the paper she was asked to present at the premier event of the National McNair Scholars in Puerto Rico last fall. In addition to her independent study in Cuba, she spent a Winter Session in Mexico studying language and culture.

John T. Deiner, associate professor of political science and international relations, called her "a truly gifted person who has a very rare combination of academic skills, drive, curiosity and personality that will assuredly bring her success in whatever endeavors she undertakes," and Juan Villamarin, chairperson of the Department of Anthropology, said she "transmits a contagious exuberance for life, bringing vitality, hope and pride to others."

The mission of the Truman Scholarship Foundation is to find and recognize college juniors with exceptional leadership potential who are committed to careers in government, the nonprofit or advocacy sectors, education or elsewhere in the public service; and to provide them with financial support for graduate study, leadership training and fellowship with other students who are committed to making a difference through public service.

The foundation seeks candidates who have extensive records of public and community service and have outstanding leadership potential and communication skills. Financial need is not a consideration.

Past UD Truman Fellows include: David A. Kovara of Flemington, N.J., 2001; Anna L. White of Newark, 1996; Lori D. Morgan of Wilmington, 1994; Deborah J. Foster of Fairfax, Va., 1992; Christopher J. Sipe of Newark, 1990; Joseph C. Schoell of Wilmington, 1986; Gretchen S. Knight of Kennett Square, Pa., 1985; Leo E. Strine Jr. of Hockessin, 1984; Dawn E. Williams of Georgetown, 1983; Jennifer W. Reynolds-Schauffler of Brookville, Md., 1982; and Karen A. Fletcher of Kennett Square, Pa., 1979. The scholarships have been awarded since 1977.

For more information on the Truman Scholarship Foundation, visit [http://www.truman.gov/].

--Beth Thomas