May 10, 2026
At Mizzou, Josh Donaldson built a record of scholarship, leadership and a vision to solve real-world challenges.
By Sara Diedrich | Show Me Mizzou
Josh Donaldson’s academic achievements at the University of Missouri are impressive — a Marshall Scholar, Truman Scholar and a leader across campus. But those accolades only tell part of the story.
For Donaldson, achievement has never been the end goal, but a means to something bigger: using his education to improve lives and expand access to critical resources such as clean water and food.
On Friday, Donaldson will graduate with a degree in biological engineering from Mizzou Engineering, along with an Honors College Certificate and minors in data science and mathematics.
He credits Mizzou with supporting his commitment to public service and providing opportunities that have helped him turn a sense of purpose into meaningful impact.
“When I arrived on campus, I knew I wanted to pursue leadership and take ownership of meaningful projects,” he said. “Mizzou has given me the chance to do exactly that.”
A call to public service
Donaldson grew up in St. Joseph, Missouri, the youngest in a family defined by public service. His father works in law enforcement, and his mother is an assistant prosecuting attorney. His older brother is a pediatrician, and his sister is preparing to follow their mother into the Buchanan County Prosecutor’s Office.
“Their examples shaped how I saw the world,” said Donaldson, who began volunteering in high school. “Serving others stayed with me. I found great fulfillment in connecting with people.”
At Mizzou, he experienced a profound sense of belonging during his freshman year when he began volunteering at Tiger Pantry, which serves members of the university community facing food insecurity.
“Suddenly, campus felt like home,” he said. “More importantly, my commitment to public service became clearer. If being part of an organization like Tiger Pantry could create that sense of belonging for me — and for the people we serve — then it felt like something worth dedicating my life to.”
With a GPA of 4.0, Donaldson was dedicated to his academics, diving into engineering, data science and mathematics courses with an eye toward how those disciplines could better equip him to tackle the issues he is passionate about.
Along the way, he found support in Susan Lever, an associate professor emerita in the Honors College, who played a key role in his academic development. He first sought her help understanding a concept in her organic chemistry class, but their conversations quickly expanded beyond coursework.
“She pushed me to think beyond the classroom and to consider how chemistry applies in real-world contexts, like environmental disasters or chemical spills and the chain reactions that follow,” he said.
Leadership and support at Mizzou
Between inspiring coursework and late-night study sessions, Donaldson devoted his free time at Mizzou to service.
He eventually worked his way up the ranks, later serving as executive director of Tiger Pantry and Truman’s Closet, which lends professional attire to the Mizzou community for career fairs and interviews. As the Missouri Students Association’s basic needs officer, he coordinated the Midwest Food Pantry Alliance. He also served as president of Mizzou’s Engineers Without Borders chapter, where he led global service initiatives, including designing drinking water systems in Panama.
“Public service is about supporting others and improving the world around you,” Donaldson said. “But the truth is, you also receive so much fulfillment in return. We don’t talk about that enough, and I think we should because we need more people willing to do this kind of work.”
In addition to academics and volunteering, Donalson conducted research through the School of Medicine, and served as a research fellow with the Missouri Water Center and a community health intern at the Clay County Public Health Center. He studied Swahili in Tanzania through the U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship and received the Remington R. Williams Award from the University of Missouri Board of Curators, the UM System’s highest student leadership honor.
What lies ahead
As a recipient of the Marshall Scholarship — one of the world’s most prestigious academic honors — Donaldson will head to the United Kingdom this summer, where he will spend a year at the University of Leeds pursuing a master’s degree in water, sanitation and health engineering, followed by a second year at the University of Edinburgh studying global environment, politics and society.
Afterward, Donaldson hopes to work in water systems, helping secure safe and reliable water supplies, especially for smaller communities that lack the resources to navigate these challenges on their own.
“I’m still figuring out exactly what that path will look like,” he said.
Ultimately, I want to use engineering not just to build systems, but to better understand and address the injustices that shape access to clean water.”
Donaldson said he first fell in love with Mizzou in high school when he came to campus for a music contest.
“I remember being struck not only by its beauty, but by the sense that there were endless opportunities waiting here,” he said. “When I arrived, I was eager to pursue leadership and take ownership of meaningful work. Mizzou has given me the space and support to do exactly that, opening doors I hadn’t imagined and allowing me to grow in ways I didn’t expect.”
This story originally appeared on Show Me Mizzou. Want more stories like this? Subscribe to the Show Me Mizzou newsletter.