Anthony Boutros

Truman Scholarship, 2019

In my bathrobe, I played a waste basket as a Darbake and sang Wadi3 el Safi with another Arab Truman Scholar. Throughout Truman Scholars Leadership Week, I shared many unforgettable moments with dozens of Truman Scholars: we raved about Avatar the Last Airbender in the cafeteria, bopped to Shakira at the dance, painted a door blue at a service site, stayed up late to discuss sociological theories, and shared our personal stories and passion for public service around the common room couch. Yes, all of this and more in one week! In these intimate moments, I built invaluable, lifelong friendships with the most caring, supportive, brilliant, and beautiful people. A testament to this is our GroupMe which is still active over a year later, and my weekly FaceTime update (and venting) calls with my Truman family (TruFam) across the country. The TruFam has been the most impactful and meaningful community for me.