Allison Boyd

2025 Marshall Scholar, 2024 Truman Scholar

Hometown

Washington, IN

Major

Aeronautical Engineering Technology

College

Purdue Polytechnic Institute

 

Recipient of the 2025 Marshall Scholarship and a 2024 Truman Scholar, Allison Boyd takes yet another giant leap on a remarkable journey from her humble beginnings in Southwestern Indiana, to the international arena where she will cultivate an evidence-based policy approach to aviation safety challenges, new technologies, and sustainment. “I entered university with the end goal of becoming a mechanic in my home state to be financially secure,” Allison says, “and have grown into someone more open to risk with bigger dreams.”

The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation awards students who are in their junior year of college and committed to a career in public service up to $30,000 per scholar for graduate-level studies. Truman Scholars participate in leadership development programs and have special opportunities for internships and employment with the Federal government.

With every challenge, Allison demonstrated her ability to lead others through innovation. Whether pursuing her own professional development or creating opportunities for her peers and future generations, Allison gained confidence by seizing the next opportunity. From applying her skills to internships and research projects at Lockheed Martin, NASA, and Blue Origin to addressing industry challenges in workforce development already as a student leader for Purdue Aviation Day, Allison began to see herself in pursuit of a long career with a focus on public safety.

While the Truman Award affirmed that Allison was on a trajectory to pursue graduate school and become a public servant when she was a junior at Purdue, her aspirations did not end there. Today, far beyond the technical skills that she originally sought to acquire at Purdue, Allison is poised to inform her future work in aviation science and policy. Allison will pursue two one-year master’s degrees in the United Kingdom with the Marshall Scholarship, which seeks to encourage applicants’ personal and intellectual growth by fostering their understanding and appreciation of contemporary Britain, its relationship with the United States, and its role on the world stage.