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Ted Trautman is pictured above during his recent travels to Lesotho, South Africa. |
As an honors student and a recipient of an Ellen and Lloyd Smith Scholarship, which provides full tuition to Wittenberg students who possess superior academic performance among co-curricular activities, Trautman boasts a 3.61 GPA and is a member of several national honorary societies including Pick and Pen, Omicron Delta Kappa, Wittenberg Literary Society and Mortar Board.
In May, Trautman received some more good news in the form of a $1,000 undergraduate award from Phi Eta Sigma, the nation’s oldest and largest national honor society. Trautman has been a member of the honor society, which recognizes academic excellence among first-year undergraduate men, since 2004.
“I was proud that my involvement seemed noteworthy to the scholarship committee,” said Trautman, who is also a National Merit Scholar.
Along with his commitment to academics, Trautman is also dedicated to service, an interest that has been a part of his life since his youth. In middle school, he took a service trip to Chile for the World Scout Jamboree outside of Santiago, during which he spent long hours painting classrooms and laying sidewalks.
“It was a good lesson in perspective,” he said, noting that the experience piqued his interest in service.
A recent trip to another third-world country exposed Trautman to a different level of service, and he said the experience made him fully appreciate the impact he can have on those in need. With significant funding from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, the largest fraternal benefit society in the nation which supports outreach programs, Trautman traveled to Lesotho in southern Africa with 28 other students for summer study and service work in June .
“In Lesotho, the whole idea was to spend a lot more time reflecting about what was happening here,” Trautman said.
During the month-long trip, which was led by Scott Rosenberg, associate professor of history, students volunteered with Habitat for Humanity (HFH) to build playground equipment for the Maseru Children’s Village. Though the group was scarce on shovels, its members were brimming with compassion. Trautman was among several students who helped dig a sandbox for the village’s playground with his bare hands, pulling weeds and moving rocks for hours.
“The experience was surreal, even spiritual,” said Trautman, adding that he felt great frustration because of the poverty burdening the nation.
The trip was eye-opening in others ways as well. Following his return to the United States, Trautman said he now resolves to live his life and shape his career in a way that works to further the cause of international development. After working in Khubelu, the village in Lesotho where HFH is working to make a difference, Trautman decided he wants to get more involved with HFH’s Ohio chapter.
An English and philosophy double major with minors in Spanish and Africana studies, Trautman intends to serve in the Peace Corps after college —Africa and Latin America are the two regions that most interest him. Eventually, he plans to attend graduate school to study international development. His desire to do so again stems from his devotion to help others in need.
“Ultimately, no one on this planet has the right to any luxury until we acknowledge and act to satisfy every human being’s right to sufficient food, clothing and shelter,” Trautman said. “How hard we think we work is absolutely irrelevant if, at the end of the day, we have more than we need and someone somewhere has not enough.”
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