Twenty Women Among the 32 Rhodes Scholars From the United States

Recently, the Rhodes Trust announced the 32 American winners of Rhodes Scholarships for graduate study at Oxford University in England. 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. Being named a Rhodes Scholar is considered among the highest honors that can be won by a U.S. college student.

The scholarships were created in 1902 by the will of Cecil Rhodes, an industrialist who made a vast fortune in colonial Africa. According to the will of Rhodes, applicants must have “high academic achievement, integrity of character, a spirit of unselfishness, respect for others, potential for leadership, and physical vigor.” Applicants in the United States may apply either through the state where they are a legal resident or where they have attended college for at least two years.

This year nearly 3,000 students began the application process and 865 students were endorsed by 243 different colleges and universities. Committees of Selection in each of 16 U.S. districts interviewed the strongest applicants. All districts interviewed at least 14 finalists.

Including this year’s cohort, 3,674 Americans have won Rhodes Scholarships, representing 329 colleges and universities.

The 32 Rhodes Scholars chosen from the United States will join an international group of Scholars chosen from 25 other jurisdictions (more than 70 countries) around the world, and two Global Scholars from any country in the world without its own scholarship. Over 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.

Since 1976, women have been eligible to apply, and 683 American women have now won Rhodes Scholarships. Of this year’s 32 Rhodes Scholars from the United States, it appears that 20 are women, the same number as a year ago. In 2018, a record 21 women won Rhodes Scholarships. A decade ago, only 11 of the 32 Rhodes Scholars from the United States were women.

Here are brief biographies of the 20 new women who have been awarded Rhodes Scholarships.

Katherine G. Ameku, from Independence, Missouri, is a senior at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where she majors in mathematics and statistics. Her academic work has centered on computational material science, X-ray spectroscopy, and the numismatics of Japanese-American internment camps. Invigorated by the intersection of science and public service, Ameku serves as the president of her school’s Physics Club and became the youngest elected official in the state of Missouri, serving on two Democratic committees. At Oxford, she will pursue a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, politics, and economics.

Lena R. Ashooh, of Shelburne, Vermont, is a student at Harvard University, where she designed and is pursuing Harvard’s first major in animal studies, with research in philosophy, psychology, biology, political science, and other disciplines. She grew up exhibiting dairy cows as a member of her local 4-H club, and at Harvard has worked with land law examiners as an intern at the Bureau of Land Management. She has also lobbied legislators on environmental justice at the Center on Race, Poverty, and the Environment. Ashooh conducted field research on macaque monkeys in Puerto Rico, where she learned the faces and names of 150 individual monkeys while studying variation in facial behavior. She plays classical harp and has created a stop-motion animation film about the ethics of eating animals. In England, she plans to study for a bachelor’s degree in political theory.

Sarah S. Cao, from Plymouth, Minnesota, is a cadet at the United States Military Academy, where she is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in international affairs and Chinese. She has interned for the Center for Naval Analyses and the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, where she prepared daily briefings for the Pentagon. At West Point, she served as second in command of over 1,600 cadets, and won the ‘Master of the Sword’ award as the top-ranked female cadet in physical fitness. Sarah is a first- generation American and the first in her family to serve in the military. Cao is on the Academy’s diving team and won the national championship in collegiate skydiving two years in a row. As a Rhodes Scholar she intends to pursue a master’s degree in global governance and diplomacy and a maaster’s degree in contemporary Chinese studies.

Sofia L. Corona, of Delray Beach, Florida, is a student at Harvard University studying for a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics and economics. She has designed her course of study to develop a multidisciplinary perspective on issues in transportation policy, including infrastructure development, clean energy governance, and community decision-making. Coronoa has supported prosecutions of federal transportation oversight cases at the U.S. Department of Transportation, researched community participation and renewable energy implementation at the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation, and analyzed alternative vehicle upgrades for car models at BMW. She has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, Denali and Aconcagua. At Oxford, Corona plans to study for a master’s degree in economics for development and a master’s degree in sustainability.

Madeline C. Dierauf,  is a senior at Davidson College in North Carolina, where she majors in English. She is writing an honors thesis examining the intersections of affect and ethics in the novels of J.G. Ballard and Muriel Spark. Dierauf is a professional fiddler and bluegrass musician who is also a manager and composer for bands in Appalachia and Boston. As the student performers chair for Davidson’s Union Board, she hosts weekly events to foster a vibrant arts culture on campus. She has also conducted research on folk traditions, including independent research with musicians across Ireland and Northern Ireland. She will pursue a master’s degree in English and American studies and a master’s degree in philosophical theology at the University of Oxford.

Francesca Fernandes, from Saratoga, California, is a senior at Stanford University where she majors in physics. Her work has focused on the phenomenon of antipodal duality and the mathematics of formal systems related to spin chains and quasicrystals. While at Stanford, Fernandes has taught physics and quantum mechanics to local high-schoolers. She is an actress in the Stanford Asian American Theater Project and a soprano in the Stanford Talisman a cappella group.. In England, she will pursue a master’s degree in mathematical and theoretical physics.

Kate E. Herndon, of Newburyport, Massachusetts, is a senior at the University of Alabama. She is majoring in criminal justice and history. Her academic work examines the origin of laws defining and punishing domestic violence and the evolution of this legislation over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. She serves as the director of the student government’s SAFE Center Committee and is managing editor of a law and public policy journal. At Oxford, Herndon will pursue a master’s degree in criminology and criminal justice.

Meredith G. M. Lehman, from Dover, Ohio, is a senior at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where she majors in biology and political science. She is the first student from Eastern Mennonite University to be awarded a Rhodes Scholarship. Her research on drug delivery systems for anti-cancer drugs has been funded by the National Science Foundation and she has an extensive record of scientific publications. Lehman is president of the student government association, has served as a student representative in the university’s President’s Cabinet, and co-designed and co-taught an honors course on sustainable fashion design. She has done volunteer work to provide legal services to asylum seekers and is active with the Virginia Young Democrats. At Oxford, Lehman intends to complete a master’s degree in international relations.

Sayda Martinez-Alvarado, from Leesburg, Virginia, graduated from Yale University in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She currently works as a senior policy analyst at EdTrust, where she advocates for improving the accessibility of federal financial aid and conducts research and policy analysis on issues in higher education. At Yale, she mentored peers and younger students in a variety of roles, including as student ambassador for first- generation, low-income students, lead counselor for first-year students in her residential college, and head advising fellow for a national nonprofit. She also worked as an education policy intern at the National Coalition on School Diversity, led a project to improve the representation of diverse alumni in Yale portraiture, and was head conductor of the Davenport College Pops Orchestra. In England, Martinez-Alvarado hopes to further her work to promote an inclusive education system that fosters social and economic mobility by completing a master’s degree in education and a master’s degree in evidence-based social intervention and policy evaluation.

Angelin T. Mathew, of Davie, Florida, is senior at Yale University where she double majors in humanities and molecular, cellular, and developmental biology. Her medical research focuses on palliative care and cancer treatment and she has founded an international research team working across the fields of theology, public health, and clinical medicine to improve end-of-life care. She has won international awards for her research and also launched a lip-care startup focused on the needs of chemotherapy patients. Mathew performs Indian classical dance, is a powerlifter, and speaks three languages fluently. As a Rhodes Scholar, she intends to pursue a master’s degree in religion and a master’s degree in medical anthropology.

Abrianna E. Morales graduated summa cum laude in 2023 from the University of New Mexico with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and criminology. She currently works as a program manager at the National Organization for Victim Advocacy, a project she launched while still an undergraduate. The country’s first-ever national victim services corps program, NOVA is funded by a grant from the Department of Justice. A Truman Scholar and a McNair Scholar, Morales has published reports on youth service and is a frequent contributor to panels, roundtables, and media forums. Morales will pursue a master’s degree in politics at the University of Oxford.

Anushka Nair, from Lake Oswego, Oregon, is a senior at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she is simultaneously completing bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science and engineering. Her research focuses on the intersection of artificial intelligence and ethics, and her graduate thesis examines how large language models can be used to identify harmful misinformation that is less easily identifiable by human fact-checkers or other automated systems. She has completed internships at Tesla, Oracle, and the United Nations. Nair is a classical violinist and an amateur filmmaker. At Oxford, she will pursue a Ph.D. in social data science.

Noa J. Offman is a senior at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where she majors in justice and peace. Her academic work is informed by her experience studying the Nordic prison system in Denmark. While at Georgetown, Offman led Restorative Georgetown and Sexual Assault Peer Educators which contribute to restorative justice infrastructure on campus. She has also served juvenile lifers who are eligible for early release and contributed to multiple investigations to expose prison conditions. At Oxford, she will pursue a master’s degree in criminology and criminal justice followed by a master’s degree in philosophy.

Ariana Palomo, from McKinney, Texas, is a student at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where she is pursuing a double major in international and public affairs and Latin American and Caribbean studies. At Brown, she served as editor-in-chief of the Brown Journal of World Affairs and interned at the U.S. Department of State. Born in Mexico, Palomo is a first-generation American whose family experience with migration has informed her research interests in transnational crime, governance and immigration policy, as well as her work conducting research and case interviews with asylum clients at the Brown Student Clinic for Immigrant Justice. A talented linguist, she has pursued studies in Portuguese and Arabic, as well as her native Spanish. Palomo also performs as first violinist with Mariachi de Brown. At Oxford, she intends to pursue a master’s degree in refugee and forced migration studies and a master’s degree in global governance and diplomacy.

Jenna A. Smith, from Scotch Plains, New Jersey, is a senior at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, where she majors in international comparative studies. She currently serves as the president of the Duke Justice Project, which partnered Duke with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety Division of Juvenile Justice to provide leader development programs for local youths. While at Duke, Smith has focused her research on the criminal-legal system, correctional systems, and the prison reentry process. While in England she will study for a master’s degree in criminology and criminal justice and a master’s degree in comparative social policy.

Gabriella M. Sorrentino is a senior at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, where she majors in both American history and philosophy. Her research is highlighted in a forthcoming book: Henry O. Flipper, West Point’s First Black Graduate: An Annotated Autobiography. Sorrentino is a member of the West Point boxing team, a graduate of Air Assault School, and recipient of the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge. At Oxford, she will pursue a master’s degree in migration studies and a master of public policy degree.

Ava O. Spinar, from Lincoln, Nebraska, is a senior at the United States Military Academy where she majors in life science. Spinar serves as a Regimental Commander, overseeing the academic, physical and military development of 1,100 cadets. She has interned at the Walter Reed National Military Medicine Center, is a member of the West Point Pre-Medical Society, a volunteer with the Clinic with a Heart Foundation, and a graduate of the Air Assault School. As a Rhodes Scholar, she will pursue a master’s degree in global health science and epidemiology and a master’s degree in genomic medicine.

Mikayla I. Tillery is a senior at Stanford University completing dual degrees in urban studies and African and African American studies. Her honors thesis focuses on Black American cartographies of the twentieth century. A Truman Scholar and a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow, Tillery has served on a Stanford Board of Trustees Committee, received a number of campus awards and scholarships, and has been a leader at Stanford to increase recruitment for Black students. She has also completed multiple internships, including with the State Department, the Greenlining Institute in Oakland, and the Department of Energy. At Oxford, Tillery will pursue a master of public policy degree and a master’s degree in comparative social policy.

Kate E. Tully, from Sacramento, California, is a senior at Stanford University where she is completing an undergraduate degree in political science. Her honors thesis, which focuses on insurrectionist violence in sub-Saharan Africa, aims to understand factors contributing to democratic regression. She has completed research internships at the Department of Defense, the State Department, and the United Nations. As a member of the board of directors of the Sacramento Urban Debate League, Tully recruits and mentors at-risk debate students and has worked to expand debate programs at six inner-city schools in Sacramento. She is also an amateur boxer and member of the Stanford Boxing Club. As a Rhodes Scholar, she will pursue a master’s degree in international relations.

Luiza Diniz Vilanova graduated from Columbia University in New York City in 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and education. Born in the United States but raised in rural Brazil, she has founded multiple organizations supporting low-income Brazilian youth, including the organization for which she currently serves as CEO, Tocando em Frente. Tocando em Frente has partnered with 24 Brazilian states to combat school dropout rates through community programming. Vilanova is one of 10 members of the UNICEF Youth International Council, where she has worked to advance global public health, and one of 23 winners of Brazil’s Estudar Leaders Scholarship out of 46,000 total applicants. She enjoys running, roller skating, and Broadway musicals. At Oxford, she intends to pursue a master of public policy degree and a master’s degree in education.