Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Rhodes Scholar Class Features Plenty of Women, Immigrants
By admin
Published 6 years ago on
November 19, 2018

Share

BOSTON — The latest crop of U.S. Rhodes scholars has more women than any other single class, and almost half of this year’s recipients of the prestigious scholarship to Oxford University in England are either immigrants or first-generation Americans, the Rhodes Trust announced Sunday.

Among the 32 winners is Harvard University senior Jin Park, the first recipient covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, the Obama-era program that shields young immigrants from deportation.

Park, 22, of the New York City borough of Queens, arrived from South Korea with his parents when he was 7, studied molecular and cellular biology at Harvard, and founded a nonprofit to help undocumented students apply to college.

He hopes to become an immigrant advocate, saying it’s important for him to use the opportunity to better others, not just himself.

Azhir Emigrated From Iran When She Was 14

“When you grow up as an undocumented immigrant in America, that understanding that your talents don’t really belong to you in the traditional sense, that you have to share the fruits of your labor with others, that’s just something you learn,” Park said.

“As a Latino, a first-generation college student, and a train commuter to college, winning this scholarship means so much to me because it sheds hope for students from backgrounds like my own who have to overcome multiple barriers in pursuit of a higher education and a better future.” — Vidal Arroyo, a 21-year-old at Chapman University in Southern California

Alaleh Azhir, a 21-year old senior at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, emigrated from Iran when she was 14 — and is also one of 21 female scholars named Sunday. The New York City resident hopes eventually to become a doctor and will study women’s and reproductive health at Oxford.

“I’m just a passionate advocate for women in general and that’s mostly because of my background,” she said. “I thought that the way I could advocate for women could be by advocating for their health.”

At Chapman University in Southern California, Vidal Arroyo, 21, reflected on his unlikely path to becoming his school’s first Rhodes Scholar.

“As a Latino, a first-generation college student, and a train commuter to college, winning this scholarship means so much to me because it sheds hope for students from backgrounds like my own who have to overcome multiple barriers in pursuit of a higher education and a better future,” said Arroyo, who plans to study engineering science at Oxford.

Bringing Greater “Context and Clarity” to His Writing

And Eren Orbey, a 23-year-old senior at Yale University in Connecticut, whose parents emigrated from Turkey, hopes studying at Oxford will bring greater “context and clarity” to his writing. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker magazine and is working on a book about his father, who was slain in Ankara when he was just 3, and the killer.

“I think that our culture and media coverage often condescend to immigrants and survivors of trauma. In my writing, I hope to recast tragedy and strife as occasions for growth and heroism.” — Eren Orbey, a 23-year-old senior at Yale University in Connecticut

“I’m interested in studying the ethics of revenge and forgiveness,” Orbey said Sunday by email. “I think that our culture and media coverage often condescend to immigrants and survivors of trauma. In my writing, I hope to recast tragedy and strife as occasions for growth and heroism.”

The U.S. Rhodes scholars join a separate, international group of scholars representing more than 60 countries.

Rhodes Scholarships provide all expenses for at least two years of study at Oxford. They were created in 1902 in the will of Cecil Rhodes, a British businessman and Oxford alum who was a prime minister of the Cape Colony in present-day South Africa.

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Musk, Vivek Will Form Outside Group to Advise White House on Government Efficiency

DON'T MISS

Fate of Clovis Trustee Race Still Up in the Air. So Are Clovis, Sanger School Bond Measures.

DON'T MISS

Richardson Widens Lead Over Bonakdar in Nail-Biting Race for Fresno City Council

DON'T MISS

What to Know About John Ratcliffe, Trump’s Pick for CIA Director

DON'T MISS

Here Are the People Trump Has Picked for Key Positions So Far

DON'T MISS

Waymo’s Robotaxis Now Open to Anyone Who Wants a Driverless Ride in Los Angeles

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Man Accused of Filing Fake Disability Claims in $300K Fraud Scheme

DON'T MISS

Trump Nominates Fox News Host Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary

DON'T MISS

Economists Warn of Inflation and Debt Risks in Trump’s Second Term Plans

DON'T MISS

How Many Smoke Shops Is Too Many? Fresno Plan Would Allow Only 49

UP NEXT

US Says It Will Not Limit Israel Arms Transfers After Some Improvements in Flow of Aid to Gaza

UP NEXT

Travel in the West Bank Is a Tale of Two Journeys

UP NEXT

Chris Wallace Is Leaving CNN, Eager to Explore New Media Landscape

UP NEXT

Aid Groups Say Israel Misses US Deadline to Boost Humanitarian Aid Entering Gaza

UP NEXT

US Regulators Investigating Whether Engines on 1.4 Million Hondas Might Fail

UP NEXT

Israeli Strikes Kill Dozens in Lebanon and Isolated Northern Gaza While Netanyahu and Trump Speak

UP NEXT

When to Catch the Last Supermoon of the Year

UP NEXT

Mattel Says It ‘Deeply’ Regrets Misprint on ‘Wicked’ Dolls Packaging That Links to Porn Site

UP NEXT

Trump to Target Iran’s Oil Trade in Renewed ‘Maximum Pressure’ Campaign

UP NEXT

4B Movement: After the Election, a Call for Women to Swear Off Men

What to Know About John Ratcliffe, Trump’s Pick for CIA Director

8 hours ago

Here Are the People Trump Has Picked for Key Positions So Far

8 hours ago

Waymo’s Robotaxis Now Open to Anyone Who Wants a Driverless Ride in Los Angeles

8 hours ago

Fresno County Man Accused of Filing Fake Disability Claims in $300K Fraud Scheme

8 hours ago

Trump Nominates Fox News Host Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary

8 hours ago

Economists Warn of Inflation and Debt Risks in Trump’s Second Term Plans

8 hours ago

How Many Smoke Shops Is Too Many? Fresno Plan Would Allow Only 49

9 hours ago

US Says It Will Not Limit Israel Arms Transfers After Some Improvements in Flow of Aid to Gaza

9 hours ago

Who With Valley Ties Could Land Spots in the Trump Administration?

10 hours ago

Tulare Gang Member Gets Life Without Parole for 2022 Murders

11 hours ago

Trump Says Musk, Vivek Will Form Outside Group to Advise White House on Government Efficiency

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new “D...

7 hours ago

7 hours ago

Trump Says Musk, Vivek Will Form Outside Group to Advise White House on Government Efficiency

7 hours ago

Fate of Clovis Trustee Race Still Up in the Air. So Are Clovis, Sanger School Bond Measures.

7 hours ago

Richardson Widens Lead Over Bonakdar in Nail-Biting Race for Fresno City Council

8 hours ago

What to Know About John Ratcliffe, Trump’s Pick for CIA Director

8 hours ago

Here Are the People Trump Has Picked for Key Positions So Far

8 hours ago

Waymo’s Robotaxis Now Open to Anyone Who Wants a Driverless Ride in Los Angeles

A Fresno County man has been indicted on mail fraud charges for allegedly submitting over $300,000 in falsified disability claims using stolen identities. (GV Wire File)
8 hours ago

Fresno County Man Accused of Filing Fake Disability Claims in $300K Fraud Scheme

Pete Hegseth walks to an elevator for a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York, Dec. 15, 2016. (AP File)
8 hours ago

Trump Nominates Fox News Host Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary

Search

Send this to a friend