Addie Lentzner ’27 Named 2026 Truman Scholar

Addie Lentzner ’27, a sociology and Black studies major from Bennington, Vermont, has been named a 2026 Truman Scholar—the nation’s leading graduate scholarship for aspiring public service leaders. She is the 13th Middlebury student and the 45th from Vermont to receive the award since its inception in 1977.

“It’s an impressive honor and a recognition of Addie’s leadership and dedication to making positive change in our state,” said Lisa Gates, associate dean for fellowships and research. “Addie joins a dynamic cohort of new Truman scholars and a strong network of changemakers. We are excited to see how Addie’s future leadership in educational policy and youth empowerment takes shape.”

Given annually by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, the award recognizes undergraduates for outstanding leadership, public service, and academic achievement. Lentzner was among 55 students from 48 institutions selected from a pool of 781 applicants. President Ian Baucom presented Lentzner with the award—a tradition of the Truman Scholar Program. “It was definitely a meaningful moment,” she said. “I’m so thankful to President Baucom for making time to share this news.” 

Lentzner said her work as a community organizer on housing issues, education reform, and youth advocacy while growing up in Bennington County laid the foundation for her current efforts to improve the state’s education system by empowering young people to have a voice.

“I owe this recognition to the community back home that fostered this interest and passion in me from a young age—my family, my teachers and peers, legislators who took me under their wing, and the organizers who showed me what is possible when people come together for change,” said Lentzner. “For me, realizing the power I had as a high school organizer changed my life, and I continue to see the impact of such organizing on students I work with today.”

Truman Scholars receive funding for graduate study, leadership training, career counseling, and specialized internship and fellowship opportunities within the federal government. Lentzner plans to use her $30,000 scholarship to pursue graduate study, ideally in the Doctor of Philosophy in Education program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She hopes to enroll in the Culture, Institutions, and Society concentration to study education reform models and work in Harvard’s EdRedesign Lab to translate theory into policy and practice in Vermont.

The selection committee of civic leaders, elected officials, university presidents, federal judges, and past Truman Scholarship winners based their decision in part on Lentzner’s campaign to involve more student voices on local school boards and in the revision of Act 73—a Vermont education reform law aimed at restructuring school governance, funding, and efficiency to address rising costs and declining enrollment. She founded and serves as executive director of the Vermont Student Anti-Racism Network (VSARN)—a nonprofit advocating for racial equity and justice in Vermont schools.

Vermont State Senator Kesha Ram Hinsdale, a 2007 Truman Scholar while at the University of Vermont, said Lentzner’s advocacy on homelessness and other key statewide issues embodies the values of a Truman Scholar.

“I’ve had the privilege of watching Addie’s leadership take shape over many years—and it’s the kind of leadership this moment calls for,” said Ram Hinsdale. “She brings people together, listens deeply, and builds coalitions that last. Her work to end preventable homelessness in Vermont isn’t just compassionate—it’s strategic, durable, and rooted in real partnership. Addie is the embodiment of what it means to be a Truman Scholar, and I have no doubt she will help shape a more just and effective future for our state and beyond.”

In her application, Lentzner identified Inequality and the American Dream, Black Middlebury, and Community-Engaged Work in Black Studies as the most significant courses she has taken in preparation for her career in education. She also highlighted a range of leadership experiences, including service as a Vermont delegate to the 2024 Democratic National Convention, a campaign staffer on the re-election committee for Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas, co-chair and facilitator of the Middlebury College Community Council, a fellow at the Vermont Housing and Finance Agency, and a workshop facilitator in the Vermont Afterschool program.

“I am dedicated to our state and our community as a whole—Vermonters of all backgrounds, ages, and ideologies—and plan to continue a lifetime career in public service here,” said Lentzner, who joins a community of 3,673 Truman Scholars from the past 50 years.

Established by Congress in 1975 as a living memorial to President Harry S. Truman and a national monument to public service, the Truman Scholarship carries the legacy of the nation’s 33rd president by supporting and inspiring the next generation of public service leaders.