Juniors Shiva Rajbhandari and Faith Austin named Truman scholars

UNC-Chapel Hill juniors Shiva Rajbhandari and Faith Austin are 2026 Truman scholars, the first two from Carolina selected in the same year since 2004.

The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation announced the class of 55 scholars April 24. For almost 50 years, the Truman scholarship has recognized college juniors demonstrating exceptional leadership potential and a commitment to public service careers. Truman scholars receive up to $30,000 for graduate or professional school leadership development activities and join a network of over 3,500 who have shaped public policy, law, healthcare, education and more.

Rajbhandari is a Morehead-Cain scholar and Honors Carolina student majoring in public policy and sociology in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences. Austin is a Roberston scholar and Honors Carolina student studying history and Germanic and Slavic languages and literatures, also in the College.

“Carolina is a top three public university for Truman scholars, underscoring the University’s leadership in public service,” said Marc Howlett, executive director of the Office of Distinguished Scholarships in Honors Carolina. “This is a remarkable achievement.”

Rajbhandari focuses on public good

In his LinkedIn biography, Rajbhandari asks, “How can I best advance the public good?”

That question has been a guiding principle for him since childhood. Growing up in Boise, Idaho, Rajbhandari saw the effects of climate change in the form of annual wildfires and worsening air quality. Rajbhandari began organizing for climate justice in the ninth grade, and at 18 became the first high schooler ever elected to the Boise School Board.

At Carolina, Rajbhandari said he’s become more “well rounded” as a public servant, crediting experiences as an Agora Fellow, Carolina Diplomacy Fellow and more.

Research for a Carolina Student Training and Research course he taught on resistance to authoritarianism took him to Chile, Uruguay, Peru and Mexico. He also led efforts to establish Carolina Students Financial, a student-run, not-for-profit financial institution projected to open in August.

“Public schools made me who I am. I feel really lucky and grateful to a lot of mentors who have helped me on this process,” Rajbhandari said. “UNC makes becoming a public servant possible and encourages you to do it. I’ve already gotten to work with a lot of the top leaders who care about advancing the public good.”

Rajbhandari aspires to work at a federal level deploying clean energy in public schools.

Austin looks to the stars

There’s no limit to Austin’s passion for public service — not even the sky.

Inspired by her experiences at Carolina, Duke University and in both universities’ Air Force ROTC programs, Austin will commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Space Force after graduation to fulfill her active-duty service commitment before attending law school.

This unique career path combines many of Austin’s academic interests and skills, as well as her desire to serve her country and the world. At Carolina, Austin has studied history and multilateral diplomacy through study abroad opportunities in Belgium and Cameroon while also learning German and Russian — languages that could aid in future diplomatic efforts. At Duke, the Robertson scholar studied space law and how history informs future space governance frameworks.

Austin aims to become one of the first Space Force judge advocate general officers.

“I’m drawn to the fact that space is this frontier that affects everybody’s life,” Austin said. “The reality is that space is not just an American domain. Space policy is inherently a team project.

“That curiosity for adventure, the desire for international collaboration — it’s all come together in this path for me. I just feel so lucky that at 22 years old, I found this perfect nexus of these seemingly very different interests through my public service commitment to the Space Force.”

Originally from Carmel, Indiana, Austin took a gap year with the U.S. State Department in Germany before coming to UNC and credits her mentors at Carolina, Duke and from across the Department of the Air Force. She called the Truman scholar process one of the most valuable she’s gone through.

“I feel so overwhelmed with gratitude for all the people who have helped me along the way,” Austin said.