Three Harvard undergraduates were named winners of the Truman Scholarship last week, a merit award which grants $30,000 to juniors and seniors who intend to pursue a career in the public sector.

Two of the award recipients, William W. Burke-White '98 and Geoffrey C. Rapp '98 are Leverett House residents. The third winner, Brian R. Blais '97, lives in Lowell House.

"They're really, really wonderful people, and it's a great thing they were all able to win," said Paul A. Bohlmann, director of Fellowships at the Office of Career Services.

The scholarship can be applied toward a recipient's senior year and up to three years of graduate school.

According to Bohlmann, a special faculty committee nominated six women and five men from about 60 undergraduate applicants.

Last year, Harvard and Radcliffe each produced one winner.

"It's unusual that no one from Radcliffe won this year," Bohlmann said.

This year's recipients said they were elated at their awards.

"I was excited to find out on Friday," said Burke-White, a history and literature concentrator.

Fluent in Russian, Burke-White spent last summer in Minsk, Belarus as a political analyst in the U.S. Embassy.

"It gave me a chance to speak a little more Russian and to get to know that part of the world better," said Burke-White.

At Harvard, Burke-White has worked with several government simulation programs, including Harvard Model Congress, Model Congress Europe and the Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations.

He said he plans to get degrees in international law and international relations and hopes to work with crisis management.

"I'd like to be involved in diplomacy and international relations, working to bring together people who are for whatever reason in conflict, helping people to understand one another and building bridges between people," he said.

Rapp, a lifelong resident of Oahu, Hawaii, said he was also extremely pleased with the news.