Leading to Change Lives

Juan Dills, originally from Oklahoma City, has overcome significant challenges on his journey to college. Raised primarily in foster care without a strong support system, he faced difficulties that led to a teenage mistake resulting in incarceration. After release, Juan was inspired by a social worker who helped him change his life, prompting him to pursue a college degree in Social Work. Now an undergraduate student in the Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work, Juan has been named a 2024 Truman Scholar where he plans to pursue a Master of Social Work with a desire to address problems around imprisonment and reincarceration in U.S. prisons.

Breyona Greenlee is a master's student in the clinical mental health counseling program at the University of Oklahoma - Tulsa. Breyona wrote a list of her dream schools when she was a child and OU always topped the list, so attending OU-Tulsa is a dream come true for her. She values the community-based atmosphere at OU-Tulsa and plans to give back to her north Tulsa neighborhood when she graduates and works in the mental health field.

Joseph Trujillo-Falcón saw a need in his community and set out for the University of Oklahoma to ensure its place in the world. As an immigrant from Lima, Peru and growing up in Dallas/Ft. Worth where extreme weather is no stranger, Trujillo-Falcón realized that any severe weather warnings and coverage were only communicated in English and not Spanish. This fueled his passion to build a new emergency alert system for communities similar to his during his childhood. Trujillo-Falcón's leadership within the Ph.D program at the Department of Communication and the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory and the National Weather Center is helping pave the way for better extreme weather communication.

Dr. Doris Benbrook has been leading the way in the fight against cancer for multiple decades. Dr. Benbrook's goal has been to develop a drug to treat cancer patients without causing toxic side effects. While that goal may appear lofty to some, Dr. Benbrook's work and leadership led the way for OK-1, a cancer drug given to women with advanced-stage ovarian, endometrial and cervical cancer. This drug was 25 years in the making and created independent of pharmaceutical companies. Through Dr. Benbrook's leadership, countless lives now have hope where there was once little to none.

Rylan Texada came to the University of Oklahoma with determination and a vision. With a positive attitude and a desire to listen, Texada has now turned that vision into a promising future of becoming a financial consultant. His ability to listen to his mentors and succeed in the classroom helped Texada galvanize his passion. Texada's path through the OU Price College of Business provided him with the tools to lead others to financial responsibility and prosperity. 

Elizaveta "Lisa" Maslovskaya wants to tell meaningful and impactful stories. Her own story shows just how her ability to lead and inspire others has fueled an already impressive career. After emigrating from Moscow, Russia to the University of Oklahoma's Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communications, Maslovskaya earned the prestigious George J. Mitchell Scholar distinction – the university's second in the program's history – from the U.S.-Ireland Alliance. Her already impressive resume helped her achieve excellence and has set her up to continue her educational journey into the future.

Nate Feken gained the skills necessary to succeed in his career as a sportscaster at the University of Oklahoma's Gaylord College of Journalism. Following a successful journey as a sportscaster for Oklahoma City's KFOR, Feken came back to the university as Gaylord's Sports Director to give back to a new generation of aspiring sports journalists and broadcasters. Using the knowledge he gained covering Sooner greats like Sam Bradford and Blake Griffin during his time as a student, Feken now leads his students to cover recent Sooner greats like Danny Stutsman and Jocelyn Alo.