July 1, 2009
Rick Puig, a political-science major, is Mizzou's 14th Truman Scholar. Puig plans to pursue a career in public service. Photo by Anjali Pinto.
Story by Ryan Gavin, Mizzou Wire
The son of a Cuban immigrant, MU student Rick Puig pursues the American dream.
The Truman Scholarship recipient has mentored immigrant children and organized a non-partisan voter registration campaign among students. He was involved in Claire McCaskill’s successful campaign for the U.S. Senate, took leadership roles in the Mizzou College Democrats and was elected president of the Young Democrats of Missouri. In 2008, Puig was the youngest person on the Rules Committee at the Democratic National Convention and the youngest member of Gov. Jay Nixon’s transition advisory board.
“I work in public service and have gotten involved the way that I have for one fundamental reason,” Puig says. “It’s because my grandparents risked everything they had on a bet that this country could be great. What I do is an attempt to validate the risk they took because I do believe very strongly in the promise of this country and what it meant to my family.”
