'불법체류청년 추방유예 제도'(DACA) 수혜자인 박진규(Jin Kyu Park)씨가 2019 로즈 장학생(Rhodes Scholars)에 선정되어 화제다. 박진규씨는 한국에서 태어나 7세에 뉴욕으로 이주, 하버드대에서 분자생물학을 전공했으며, 하버드대 연구 저널(Harvard Undergraduate Research Journal)의 편집장을 맡고 있다. 2019 로즈 장학생 32명 중 거의 절반이 이민자이거나 2세들이다.

American Rhodes Scholarship Winners 2019

 Elliot F. Gerson, American Secretary of the Rhodes Trust, today announced the names of the 32 Americans chosen as Rhodes Scholars representing the United States. 

Gerson described this year’s class: “This year’s American Rhodes Scholars?independently elected by 16 committees around the country meeting simultaneously?once again reflect the extraordinary diversity that characterizes the United States. Almost half of the winners are immigrants themselves or first generation Americans. One is an undocumented American whose immigration status is covered under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

This is the first year in which DACA recipients were eligible for the Scholarship. The class overall is majority minority, as it was last year, and the 21 women are the greatest number ever elected in an American Rhodes class. These Scholars plan to study a wide range of fields across the social sciences, biological and medical sciences, physical sciences and mathematics, and the humanities. They are certain to enrich our future.”

Rhodes Scholarships provide all expenses for two or three years of study at the University of Oxford in England and may allow funding in some instances for four years. Mr. Gerson called the Rhodes Scholarships, "the oldest and best known award for international study, and arguably the most famous academic award available to American college graduates." They were

created in 1902 by the Will of Cecil Rhodes, and are provided in partnership with the Second Century Founders, John McCall MacBain O.C. and The Atlantic Philanthropies, and many other generous benefactors. The first class of American Rhodes Scholars entered Oxford in 1904; those elected today will enter Oxford in October 2019.

Rhodes Scholars are chosen in a two-stage process. First, applicants must be endorsed by their college or university. This year more than 2,500 students sought their institution’s endorsement; 880 were endorsed by 281 different colleges and universities. Committees of Selection in each of 16 U.S. districts then invite the strongest applicants to appear before them for interview.

This class includes the first Rhodes Scholar ever elected from Chapman University in Orange, California, the first winner since 1955 from the University of Kentucky, the first winner since 1981 from Boise State University, and the first winner since 1993 from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Applicants are chosen on the basis of the criteria set down in the Will of Cecil Rhodes. These criteria are first, academic excellence. This is a critical but only threshold condition. A Rhodes Scholar should also have great personal energy, ambition for impact, and an ability to work with others and to achieve one’s goals. In addition, a Rhodes Scholar should be committed to

make a strong difference for good in the world, be concerned for the welfare of others, and be conscious of inequities. And finally Gerson said, “a Rhodes Scholar should show great promise of leadership. In short, we seek outstanding young men and women of intellect, character, leadership, and commitment to service.” Gerson said “these basic characteristics are 

directed at fulfilling Mr. Rhodes’s hopes that the Rhodes Scholars would make an important and positive contribution throughout the world. In Rhodes’s words, his Scholars should 'esteem the performance of public duties as their highest aim.'"

Applicants in the United States may apply either through the state where they are legally resident or where they have attended college for at least two years. The district committees met separately, on Friday and Saturday, November 16 and 17, in cities across the country. Each district committee made a final selection of two Rhodes Scholars from the candidates of

the state or states within the district. Two-hundred twenty-one applicants from 82 different colleges and universities reached the final stage of the competition, including eight that had never before had a student win a Rhodes Scholarship. Of the 82 institutions whose students reached the finalist stage in 2018, nine had not endorsed any applicants in 2017.

The 32 Rhodes Scholars chosen from the United States will join an international group of Scholars chosen from 23 other jurisdictions (more than 60 countries) around the world, and for the first time, two Scholars from any country in the world without its own Scholarship. In addition to the 32 Americans, Scholars are also selected from Australia, Bermuda, Canada,

China, the nations of the Commonwealth Caribbean, East Africa, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Jamaica, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Southern Africa (South Africa, plus Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia and Swaziland), Syria/Jordan/Lebanon/Palestine, the United Arab Emirates, West Africa (including Benin,

Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, the island of Saint Helena, Sierra Leone, Sao Tome and Principe, and Togo), Zambia, and Zimbabwe. One hundred Rhodes Scholars will be selected worldwide this year, including several who have attended American colleges and universities

but who are not U.S. citizens and who have applied through their home country.

With the elections announced today, 3,484 Americans have won Rhodes Scholarships, representing 323 colleges and universities. Since 1976, women have been eligible to apply and 567 American women have now won the coveted scholarship. Approximately 2,000 American Rhodes Scholars are living in all parts of the U.S. and abroad.

The value of the Rhodes Scholarship varies depending on the academic field and the degree (B.A., master’s, doctoral) chosen. The Rhodes Trust pays all college and university fees, provides a stipend to cover necessary expenses while in residence in Oxford as well as during vacations, and transportation to and from England. The total value of the Scholarship

averages approximately US$70,000 per year, and up to as much as approximately US$250,000 for Scholars who remain at Oxford for four years in certain departments.

American Rhodes Scholars-elect for 2019

(Subject to ratification by the Rhodes Trustees after acceptance by one of the colleges of Oxford University)

DISTRICT 1

Massachusetts

Eren Orbey, Acton, is a Yale senior with a double major in Computer Science and English

Language and Literature. As a three-year old, he witnessed his father’s murder in Ankara,

Turkey, an experience that ultimately led to his current book project that melds memoir,

history, and contemporary reporting to create a portrait of his father and his father’s killer.

Eren has won many Yale literature prizes, for writing in both English and French, is a regular

contributor to the New Yorker, and has worked as a software engineer at Microsoft. His

passion is to produce art that extracts compassion from

Massachusetts

Sarah Tress, Staten Island, New York, is a senior at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

where she majors in Mechanical Engineering. Sarah has maintained a grade point average of

5.0 (out of a possible 5.0). A prolific researcher and an inventor, Sarah works at the

intersection of engineering and development, devising solutions to improve lives across the

developing world. When she discovered the low life expectancy of wheelchair users in

developing countries due to infection from pressure sores, she created Loop, a cost-effective

inflatable wheelchair seat cushion made out of bike inner tubes. Sarah is the captain of the

MIT Women’s Club Soccer Team and a member of the MIT DanceTroupe. At Oxford, Sarah

will pursue the M.Phil. in Development Studies.

DISTRICT 2

New Jersey

Nicolette C. D’Angelo, Hewitt, is a senior at Princeton University where she is a pursuing an

A.B. in Classics. Nicolette’s research puts contemporary issues in conversation with ancient

works, interrogating society’s potential biases, interests, and assumptions. Nicolette’s

translation, and original interpretation, of Euripides’ Supplicants elevated the perspective of

the maternal community in the tragedy, countering centuries of neglect by scholars. As the

Editor-in-Chief of The Nassau Literary Review, Princeton’s undergraduate literary magazine, she

has extended its public reach through a series of free conferences and events. Nicolette teaches

Latin to 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders at Princeton Young Achievers. At Oxford, Nicolette will do

the M.St. in Classics.

New Jersey

Margaret H. Dods, Linwood, is a senior at the United States Naval Academy where she

majors in English and Arabic. Maggie has maintained a perfect grade point average. At the

Naval Academy, she serves as a Battalion Commander, leading 750 of her peers. Maggie

connects her intensive study of the Middle East and its culture to a more textured formulation

of foreign policy in the region. She has completed three marathons and is currently training

for commission into the United States Marine Corps. At Oxford, Maggie will do the M.Phil.

in Modern Middle Eastern Studies.

DISTRICT 3

New York - South

Alaleh Azhir, New York City, is a senior at Johns Hopkins University with a triple major in

Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science, and Applied Mathematics and Statistics. She has

a perfect GPA (including an A+ in 22 courses). A Goldwater Scholar, she has many

publications in genomics and various biomedical subjects in major national and international

journals, and has done research at Harvard, MIT, the NIH, and laboratories in Switzerland as

well as at Johns Hopkins. She mentors middle school students, edits a philosophy journal,

runs arts programs for children in under-resourced neighborhoods, and provides cooked

meals for a shelter for survivors of domestic abuse. Alaleh immigrated from Iran when she was

14. Alaleh will do the M.Sc. in Women’s and Reproductive Health at Oxford.

New York - South

박진규 Jin Kyu Park, Flushing, is completing his B.A. at Harvard in Molecular and Cellular Biology

with a minor in Ethnicity, Migration, and Rights. Jin was born in South Korea and is the first

DACA recipient to be selected as a Rhodes Scholar. He is the Founder and Director of

HigherDreams, Inc., a non-profit organization that he started in 2014 to develop resources for

undocumented students applying to college. He is also the director of the Harvard Philips

Brooks House Association Chinatown Citizenship Program which provides naturalization

assistance to the Boston community. He has written opinion pieces on immigration for the

New York Times and the Harvard Crimson and has appeared on MSNBC to discuss DACA

legislation. He is the Managing Editor of the Harvard Undergraduate Research Journal and a

research assistant at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT where he helps

elucidate the mechanisms of T-cell exhaustion. Ultimately, Jin seeks to build a career as an

advocate for immigrant communities, and to provoke our governments to take immigrants’

rights and health seriously. Jin plans to do masters degrees in Migration Studies and Global

Health Science and Epidemiology.

DISTRICT 4

Pennsylvania

Brittany N. Ellis, Beaver Falls, is a Harvard senior concentrating in Social Anthropology and

Archaeology. A reporter, and now News Executive at the Harvard Crimson, and President of

the Radcliffe Union of Students, she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa as a junior and has a

perfect GPA. Brittany has spent the last two summers in Jordan on archaeological digs. Her

campus journalism exposed problems with the Harvard Athletic Department that contributed

to a system-wide assessment of varsity athletic culture. Brittany manages Harvard’s largest

intramural crew program and is captain and coxswain of her crew. Brittany intends to do the

M.Phil. in Visual, Material, and Museum Studies, and extend that work to a D.Phil. in

Anthropology.

Pennsylvania

Anea B. Moore, Philadelphia, is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania concentrating in

law and minoring in Africana Studies. A Truman Scholar, Anea is committed to the needs of

low-income families, reflected in a variety of important roles in Philadelphia public schools,

for City Council members, and at her university. She is co-president of a non-profit that serves

first-generation, low-income (FGLI) college students and co-chaired the largest FGLI student

conference in the world. Her sociology research has focused on issues related to gentrification,

race, class, and family engagement and well-being. At Oxford, Anea intends to do masters

degrees in Evidence-Based Social Intervention and in Comparative International Education.

DISTRICT 5

Maryland/DC

Lia Petrose, Laurel, Maryland, graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2017 with a

B.S. in Neuroscience and Economics with a minor in Chemistry. A Truman Scholar, she has

a vision of improving how data is used to facilitate health care delivery. Lia wrote three firstauthored

papers in leading medical journals and is currently a research assistant for Dr. Heidi

Williams at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As an undergraduate, she was elected

to the executive board of the student government and served as the student member of the

Board of Trustees Committee on Academic Affairs. She was born and raised until adolescence

in Ethiopia. Lia will read for a B.A. in Computer Science and Philosophy at Oxford.

Maryland/DC

Katharine H. Reed, Arnold, Maryland, is a senior at Princeton University where she is

pursuing an A.B. in History with certificates in Latin American Studies and Spanish. Kate’s

has maintained a GPA of 4.0 (with 9 A+s) and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa as a junior.

Kate’s research focuses on the relationship between the U.S. and Latin America, and how the

nations’ shared history shapes the present. For her work as a historian, she is a two-time

recipient of Princeton University’s Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence. Kate serves as the

President of the Princeton University Language Project, which offers free Spanish/French

translations to the Princeton Public Library and Princeton Public Schools. At Oxford, Kate

will do the M.Phil. in Development Studies.

DISTRICT 6

North Carolina

Ariel Kantor, Chapel Hill, is a senior at Duke University where he is pursuing a B.Sc. in

biotechnology. Ariel is committed to using science to advance basic research and advocate for

patients battling rare diseases. For three years, he has worked under the guidance of Charles

Gersbach to develop new applications for CRISPR to facilitate epigenome editing. His crossdisciplinary

research focuses on the ethical, social, and legal implications of genome sciences

and genomic medicine. Throughout his undergraduate career, he has been heavily involved in

Special Olympics, serving as the head coach for intramural basketball. At Oxford, Ariel will

read for a D.Phil. in Molecular Biology.

South Carolina

John Hoffmeyer, Florence, is a senior at Princeton University where he majors in

Comparative Literature and minors in Chinese Language and Culture as well as Piano

Performance. John’s research and major papers are interdisciplinary in their approach,

analyzing the interplay between music and literature. A distinguished musician, he earned a

Silver medal at the 2015 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and participated in

the Young Artist Residency at the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. As the President and Co-Founder

of the Princeton Chamber Music Society, he has worked to extend access to Princeton’s music

faculty to communities beyond campus. At Oxford, John will do the M.St. in Modern

Languages.

DISTRICT 7

Alabama

James W. Brahm, Huntsville, is a senior at the United States Air Force Academy where he

majors in Computer Science and minors in Chinese as well as Nuclear Weapons and Strategy.

A Truman Scholar, James does research at the intersection of cybersecurity and computer

science, and has a computer-science related patent pending with the U.S. Patent Office. He

commands the Wing Information Services Team, which is responsible for ensuring IT support

to over 4,000 cadets. Throughout his undergraduate career, he has worked extensively in

cybersecurity, including as an intern at the National Security Agency where he engineered

reusable software to support U.S. intelligence efforts. James is an Eagle Scout and enjoys

freefall parachuting. At Oxford, James will pursue an M.Sc. in Computer Science.

Mississippi

Mikaela Jazlyn Brisack, Oxford, is a senior at the University of Mississippi, majoring in Public

Policy, Journalism, and English. Jaz is a Truman Scholar, a member of the Ole Miss Debate

Team, and an opinion columnist for the Daily Mississipian. She has a perfect GPA. Very active

politically, she has managed a state house campaign, been an organizer with the UAW, serves

as president of the College Democrats, and is a volunteer clinic escort at Mississippi’s last

abortion clinic. She has also protested alongside Native Americans in the Dakotas against a

proposed pipeline across their land. She was home-schooled before college. Jaz will do masters

degrees at Oxford in Public Policy and in Women’s Studies.

DISTRICT 8

Texas

Kristina M. Correa, Robstown, is a senior at Stanford where she majors in biology and

minors in computer science. She is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and was raised by a

single mother. She has never received a grade below an A across her demanding

undergraduate and graduate courses. She has done extensive research in four different

laboratories, and her senior thesis relates to cellular glycans and cancer. Kristina has been an

active volunteer working with children whose parents have cancer and as a tutor for lowincome

and/or minority students. She plans a career in computational immunology and is 

committed to Latino empowerment in the sciences. At Oxford, Kristina intends to do masters

degrees in Integrated Immunology and Computer Science.

Texas

Kushal T. Kadakia, Houston, is a senior at Duke University with a double major in public

policy and biology with a minor in global health. He is a Truman Scholar, has a perfect

academic record, and was a Rothermere summer scholar at Oxford. He earned five A+ grades

in independent research projects across four different departments. As a student leader,

Kushal has been chairman of the Honor Council, student body vice president, a voting

member of the Duke Board of Trustees, and led the successful charge to make the Duke

campus smoke-free. He is also an accomplished and much-published writer on health policy

topics, and worked in the office of the North Carolina Governor on Medicaid transformation.

Kushal will do the M.Phil. in Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy at Oxford.

DISTRICT 9

Indiana

Jennifer Huang, Granger, graduated in 2017 from Indiana University with a perfect 4.0 GPA,

majoring in Mathematics and Social and Cultural Analysis. As an undergraduate, she

conducted cross-disciplinary research including an ethnography of Iceland’s renewable energy

industry and a computational text analysis of Poetry Magazine’s archives. Jennifer co-authored a

paper in a leading science journal PNAS, and wrote stories that received IU’s top

undergraduate fiction award. After graduating, she has redirected her focus toward

community-based political and policy work. She is currently working both as the civic

engagement program coordinator at the Institute of Politics at The University of Chicago and

as a policy associate in the Office of South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Jennifer will read for

an M.Sc. in Social Science of the Internet and MPP in Public Policy.

Kentucky

Hadeel Abdallah, Lexington, is a senior at the University of Kentucky where she majors in

Political Science as well as Arabic and Islamic Studies. Hadeel is the first Rhodes Scholar from

the University of Kentucky since 1955. A Truman Scholar, Hadeel is a committed activist who

has advanced educational opportunities for immigrant and refugee women in communities

across the globe. Hadeel founded and directs the Bilal Scholarship Endowment, which 

provides scholarships to underrepresented students across Kentucky. At Oxford, she will read

for an M.Sc. in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies and an M.Sc. in Global Governance

and Diplomacy.

DISTRICT 10

Illinois

Kristiana L. Yao, Naperville, graduated summa cum laude from the University of Miami in

2018. During her undergraduate studies, Kristiana earned a B.S. in Public Health and B.B.A.

in Business Administration, concentrating in Health Management, and maintained a perfect

GPA. She is currently a Dunn Fellow at the State of Illinois where she advances policy in

health, human services, and public safety. She has held several federal policy internships

focusing on health care equity, including stints at The White House (Domestic Policy

Council) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. A Truman Scholar, she has

focused her research on devising better systems for health care delivery. Kristiana will pursue

an M.Sc. in Comparative Social Policy at Oxford.

Ohio

Laila Ujayli, Dublin, graduated from Ohio State University in May of 2018 where she

majored in International Relations and English. Having spent much of her childhood in Syria

and Saudi Arabia, her academic trajectory has been heavily shaped by her roots toward deeper

understanding of international politics and solutions to resolve international conflicts, as well

as by her love of literature. Laila’s undergraduate thesis examined Hamid Tanpinar’s novel A

Mind at Peace, where she compared and contrasted distinctive models of social change

reflected in four primary story characters’ social life. She is currently a Herbert Scoville Jr.

Peace Fellow at Win Without War in Washington, DC, where she advocates for conflict

stabilization policies that prioritize development and diplomacy. At Oxford, Laila will pursue

masters degrees in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies and World Literatures.

DISTRICT 11

Minnesota

Riley S. Tillitt, Eden Prairie, is a senior at Yale University where he is double majoring in

History, and Ethics, Politics and Economics. Riley is interested in reforming U.S. criminal 

justice and drug policies and has engaged in deep public service related to criminal justice. He

served as a member of the board of directors of Students for Sensible Drug Policy in

Washington, DC, and as the president of the Yale chapter. He was also the President of the

Yale Model Congress and Director-General of the Yale Model United Nations China. He

served as a policy advisor for Governor-elect Ned Lamont, focusing on drug policy. At Oxford,

Riley will read for an MPP in Public Policy and an M.Sc. in Criminology and Criminal Justice.

Wisconsin

Rhea C. Stark, Milwaukee, graduated from Brown University in 2018 with a B.A. in

Archaeology and the Ancient World and Middle East Studies. She graduated with a perfect

academic record. Through her work as an archaeologist and researcher, Rhea uncovers buried

histories by elevating the narratives of everyday people, particularly women and people of

color. She pays particular attention to Islamic heritage, challenging the fallacies and biases that

often motivate popular perceptions of the Middle East. She also counseled high school

students as a certified sexual health educator at the Met Public High School. At Oxford, Rhea

intends to do the M.Phil. in Islamic Art and Archaeology.

DISTRICT 12

Iowa

Austin T. Hughes, San Antonio, Texas, is a senior at the University of Iowa triple majoring in

English (Creative Writing), Theatre Arts, and Japanese Language and Literature. Austin was

elected to Phi Beta Kappa as a junior. A Beinecke scholar, he has won numerous awards for

his poetry and creative writing at both the university and national level. As Co-President

of The English Society, Austin maintained a network of educators, writers, and authors to

showcase student literature to campus and beyond. He is a cellist, a cross-country runner, and

has written Twilight fanfiction. At Oxford, Austin will read for an M.Phil. in Japanese

Studies.

Tennessee

Grant H. Rigney, Normandy, is a senior at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville where he is

studying Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Grant is the editor-in-chief of Pursuit, UT’s

journal of undergraduate research, and has conducted research at the UT Medical Center on

toxicity of PET-CT imaging agents. He volunteers at a local homeless clinic and founded the 

Homeless Prevention University and Community Alliance at UT. Grant’s career aspirations

involve providing leadership and policy advocacy in support of the “safety net” hospitals as a

practitioner, researcher, and administrative leader. He is a licensed private pilot, a Certified

Nurse’s Assistant, triathlete, and internationally recognized bluegrass musician on the fiddle

and mandolin. He will pursue masters degrees in Global Health Science and Epidemiology

and Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation.

DISTRICT 13

Colorado

Serene K. Singh, Colorado Springs, is a senior at the University of Colorado Boulder, with

majors in Political Science and Journalism, and a minor in Leadership Studies. A Truman

Scholar, she is Chief Justice of the Student Government Supreme Court, Founder and Chair

of the National Sikh Youth Program, founder of a nonprofit to empower at-risk women, cochair

of the Colorado Youth Advisory Council, and President of the University’s Indian

Student Association. Her thesis is on media representation of Sikhs. She is currently an intern

for the Obama Foundation where she works with Michelle Obama and created the Global

Girls Ambassador Program. At Oxford, Serene plans to do masters degrees in Criminology

and Criminal Justice, and Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation.

Utah

Claire R. Wang, North Salt Lake, is a Duke senior majoring in Environmental Science and

Policy. She is a Truman Scholar and a Udall Scholar, and has a perfect GPA. She is President

of the Duke Climate Coalition, was appointed by Duke’s President to advise on campus

sustainability and climate policy, and has led numerous environmental policy campaigns.

Claire also has worked at the Rocky Mountain Institute, and for Earthjustice, the Sierra Club

and Greenpeace. She aspires to a career as a climate change policy advocate and to work at a

global level to develop clean energy alternatives to replace fossil fuels. Claire will do masters

degrees at Oxford in Environmental Change and Management, and Global Governance and

Diplomacy. 

DISTRICT 14

Idaho

Rachel Elena Gallina, Lake Orion, Michigan, graduated from Boise State University with a

BA in Economics and Political Science. She maintained a perfect GPA. Raised as the child of

aid workers in Kosovo, Elena is an Outreach Specialist at CEED-Albania, a project to spur

development in the poorest regions of Albania. Elena’s work and research has focused on

combating gender-based violence in refugee camps and conflict zones. She believes in shifting

power from institutions to the women directly impacted by the instability created by forced

migration to more effectively address gender inequity. Elena is an avid runner and soap

maker. At Oxford, Elena will read for an MBA and an M.Sc. in Refugee and Forced

Migration Studies.

Oregon

Katherine M. Kowal, Louisville, Colorado, graduated in 2017 from Lewis and Clark College,

summa cum laude, in Physics and Political Science where she received the Rena J. Ratte Award,

the College’s highest academic honor. Katie was elected to Phi Beta Kappa as a junior. She is a

Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the Institute for Defense Analyses where she consults

on space weather and space nuclear power. Her focus is strengthening society’s capacity to

prepare for extreme weather and to develop a better understanding of the connection between

extreme weather and climate change. She was a captain of Lewis and Clark’s varsity track and

field team. At Oxford, Katie will read for a D.Phil. in Geography and Environment.

DISTRICT 15

Arizona

Rayan Alsemeiry, Mesa, is a senior at Yale University pursuing a B.A. Global Affairs with a

minor in Human Rights and Economics. Rayan was the only undergraduate recognized by the

Jefferson Awards Association and the Yale Alumni Association for “innovative, outstanding,

and sustained contributions in service to the greater good.” In the arena of public service,

Rayan has held internships at The World Bank, the American Civil Liberties Union, and

Human Rights Watch. On campus, he pursued reforms towards greater inclusion and support

of first-generation, low-income college students. Presently, he serves as a policy researcher to

former Secretary of State John Kerry. Rayan and his family immigrated from Saudi Arabia in 

early 2001 and endured profound economic instability and homelessness during his

childhood. Against the odds, he excelled academically and graduated from a 4,000-person

public school before arriving at Yale, with a desire to understand how government can best

address poverty and social exclusion for its most vulnerable communities. At Oxford, he will

pursue an M.Phil. in International Relations.

Arizona

Leah Crowder, Tucson, graduated from the University of Arizona in 2018 with a B.A in

Middle Eastern and North African Studies. Throughout her undergraduate career, she

maintained a perfect GPA. She is currently pursuing an M.A. in the same program. Leah is

researching how to end cyclical violence and move towards peace in areas divided by deep

cultural and political differences. She has utilized big data to ascertain a causal relationship

between militarized curfews and civilian casualties. Starting in her teenage years, she has

worked on the ground in Turkey to advance a variety of peacekeeping efforts. Most recently,

she interned at Art Anywhere Association, in Mardin, Turkey, to plan child protection activities

in remote villages affected by regional violence. At Oxford, Leah will pursue a D.Phil. in

International Relations.

DISTRICT 16

California - South

Vidal M. Arroyo, Rancho Santa Margarita, is a senior at Chapman University where he is

pursuing a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with a minor in Computational

Science and Integrated Educational Studies. He is Chapman University’s first Rhodes

Scholar. Vidal has maintained a perfect GPA. He has researched the link between cancer and

obesity as well as outcome disparities in survivors in childhood cancers. His studies have also

focused on the use artificial intelligence to strengthen and personalize cancer treatments. As

the Founder and President of Chapman STEMtors, he has worked to expose at-risk youth to

careers in science. At Oxford, Vidal will read for a D.Phil. in Engineering Science.

California - South

Madison L. Tung, Santa Monica, is a senior at the United States Air Force Academy where

she is majoring in Mathematics and Humanities and minoring in Chinese. A Truman

Scholar, Maddy researches the use of artificial intelligence and other mathematical techniques 

to develop tools for decision makers. Ultimately, she believes in the power of artificial

intelligence to improve people’s lives. She is a six-time All-American, national champion in

Women’s Wrestling, and holds a Black Belt in Hapkido (Korean martial art). Her hobbies

include ice climbing and Jiu-Jitsu. At Oxford, Maddy will read for masters degrees in

Computer Science and in Global Governance and Diplomacy.