A group of college students with Chicago-area ties are being honored as part of this year's elite class of Rhodes Scholars.
The trio of students, recognized for their academic performance, competed for a precious few slots in the program, which will see them head to the University of Oxford for further study.
The excitement was especially palpable at the University of Chicago after two of its students secured the prestigious distinction.
“I was quite speechless,” said fourth-year student Anqi Qu. “I feel like it took a while for it to sink in.”
“I think I had a similar reaction—total shock,” student Francesco Rahe added. “I thought there had been a mistake for a second.”
The fourth-year students received the highest honors after applying for the competitive and prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to continue their graduate education at the University of Oxford in England.
Qu from South Africa is majoring in economics and statistics.
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“I think it would be really exciting to be able to apply AI and make economic research more accessible faster,” she said. “Hopefully I’ll be able to find something interesting with that.”
Rahe from Michigan is studying fundamental and religious studies. He’s already working on his 13th novel and can speak six other languages, including Latin and German.
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“I think especially to do good translations I think it’s something I’m very passionate about is increasing the number of translations that are available within the U.S.,” he said.
Applicants said the process was challenging and intensive. Nearly 3,000 students applied in the U.S., with just 32 selected for the prestigious honor. Another 100 students were awarded the scholarships from around the world.
Among the U.S. honorees was Barrington-native Om Gandhi from Barrington, a senior at the University of Pennsylvania pursuing degrees in bioengineering.
“This is an incredible call to action that our work is really just starting and that we can now do the work that we have been doing in cancer therapy and cancer care,” said Gandhi.
The recipients here credit their mentors, teachers, professors, family, and close friends for guiding them along the way. As they embark on their journey next fall, they hope to inspire a new wave of students.
“You have all these visions of what you think the world could be and how you could make it better, just keep holding on to that and keep believing that, keep on working toward it,” said “It’s with everyone’s effort that we can end up making the world a place that we all want it to be.”
