Alyssa Neill
  • Class of 2014
  • Wakefield, RI

Alyssa Neill of Wakefield, RI awarded prestigious international scholarship

2013 Jun 17

For more than a decade, University of Rhode Island students have won some of the most prestigious scholarships available to undergraduates studying in the United States, and 2013 is no different.

Eight URI undergraduate students and recent graduates are among this year's winners of five coveted international scholarships including the Truman Scholarship, the Boren Scholarship, three Fulbright Scholarships, a Whitaker Scholarship, and three NOAA/Hollings Scholarships.

Alyssa Neill of Wakefield,RI, received the Truman Scholarship. She nutrition and dietetics.

Neill and her commitment to a healthy food system were recognized as she was named a Truman Scholar and awarded a $30,000 grant for graduate study. Selected for her academic achievement, leadership ability and likelihood of a career in public service, she received her award along with 61 other college juniors at a ceremony at the Truman Library in Independence, Missouri on June 2. Neill sees great value in knowing where food comes from and how it grows. The co-founder of the student group Slow Food URI has put that knowledge to good use by launching a local food market, building a vegetable garden on campus, and representing the University at food forums near and far. The University was named a Truman Scholarship Honor Institution in 2005 for its active encouragement of students to pursue careers in public service. It is the only public university in the Northeast with this designation.