Student wins Truman scholarship

By Charlotte Crystal

Brad Barnett’s work with the homeless was a major factor in his recent selection as a Truman Scholar, according to the Harry S. Truman Foundation. He founded CavsCare, a group of U.Va. students who volunteer at the homeless shelter in Charlottesville.

The Truman Foundation each year grants 70 scholarships of $30,000 to promising college juniors nationwide to help them pay for their last year of college.

Because Barnett is graduating a year early this May thanks to AP credits and summer school classes, he will be allowed to apply the scholarship funds to graduate school. Barnett is the 20th U.Va. student to win a Truman Scholarship.

As an Echols scholar, Barnett examined questions about homelessness and the human condition through an interdisciplinary program that included classes in anthropology, philosophy, religion and English. He also completed the prerequisites for medical school.

Barnett is planning to pursue a career in medicine and would like to continue his work with homeless people in some way — or treat children battling cancer.