VIENNA, Va. \u2014 This year\u2019s class of Rhodes scholars from the U.S. includes students who have used data to visualize sea level rise, some who speak several languages and the son of undocumented immigrants.<\/span><\/p>\n The Rhodes Trust announced the 32 American men and women chosen as scholars early Sunday. The 2017 recipients were chosen from 882 applicants who were endorsed by 311 colleges and universities. Next they will pursue post-graduate studies at Oxford University. The American students will join an international group of scholars chosen from 18 jurisdictions around the world. A total of 95 scholars will be selected worldwide this year.<\/span><\/p>\n Scholarships cover all expenses for two or three years of study at the prestigious university in England starting next October. In some instances, they may allow funding for four years. The scholarships are worth about $68,000 per year. The first class of American Rhodes Scholars entered Oxford in 1904.<\/span><\/p>\n Highlights from this year\u2019s class:<\/span><\/p>\n VISUALIZING SEA RISE<\/span><\/p>\n A senior at the University of South Carolina lists his interests as three-dimensional mapping and data visualizations related to sea level rise, aquatic habitat and underwater archaeology.<\/span><\/p>\n Jory M. Fleming, of Columbia, South Carolina, is double-majoring in geography and marine science. He has worked on funded research projects for NOAA, the National Park Service and National Geographic. Fleming will pursue a master of philosophy degree in geography and the environment.<\/span><\/p>\n Fleming\u2019s extracurricular interests include training service dogs, volunteering for a child literacy program and church activities.<\/span><\/p>\n BRIDGING THE PAST AND PRESENT<\/span><\/p>\n Nancy Ko, a senior at Harvard University, plans to do her graduate work in modern Middle Eastern studies and ultimately wants to become a professor of Jewish history. She traces her interest to growing up near a Jewish community in Brooklyn.<\/span><\/p>\n Studying history is more than just learning about what happened, she says. It builds bridges between the past and present.<\/span><\/p>\n The daughter of Korean immigrants is proficient in both Hebrew and Arabic.<\/span><\/p>\n SON OF UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS<\/span><\/p>\n Oscar De Los Santos was born the son of immigrants from Mexico who at the time were in the U.S. illegally. In 2015, he was one of the top 20 graduates from the University of Southern California.<\/span><\/p>\n Born and raised in Los Angeles, De Los Santos now lives in the Phoenix suburb of Laveen and is a lobbyist and manager of public policy for the Association of Arizona Food Banks.<\/span><\/p>\n De Los Santos told The Associated Press via email that he\u2019s grateful for the scholarship but disappointed he is the only Latino selected this year.<\/span><\/p>\n He has a bachelor\u2019s degree in political science. At Oxford, he plans pursue masters\u2019 in public policy and theology, with a focus on Christian ethics.<\/span><\/p>\n LANGUAGE SKILLS HELP HIM STUDY LAW AROUND THE WORLD<\/span><\/p>\n Joshua Pickar, of Lexington, Massachusetts, is the only native New Englander among this year\u2019s winners. He graduated from George Washington University in only two years with a double major in international affairs and security policy. He\u2019s now in his final year at the University of Chicago Law School.<\/span><\/p>\n Pickar speaks several languages and plans a career in international law and policymaking. He learned he was among the winners on Saturday after he and other finalists were interviewed for the scholarships.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey called my name first and I was shocked,\u201d Pickar, 22, said Sunday. \u201cI\u2019m thrilled, and I\u2019m really excited to go to Oxford.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Pickar speaks Russian, French and Spanish, and is learning German, Italian and Arabic. His interest in languages dates back to middle school, when he started taking Spanish classes and took a trip to Costa Rica after eighth grade.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI found it to be really exciting,\u201d he said of speaking to people in other countries in their native languages. \u201cNow I see it as a way to enhance your understanding of policy and law around the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Pickar said he\u2019s interested in the ramifications of Britain leaving the European Union and is thinking of pursuing a clerkship at the International Court of Justice in the Netherlands.<\/span><\/p>\n While in college, Pickar successfully helped advocate for an Iraqi refugee\u2019s relocation to the U.S. after the refugee had been beaten by his family and exiled because of his sexual orientation. Pickar also helped in efforts to gain American citizenship for a deaf and mute Honduran who was tormented because of his disabilities.<\/span><\/p>\n SEEKING SOLUTIONS FOR REFUGEES<\/span><\/p>\n Hannah Carrese says the current definition of a refugee is outdated. The recent Yale University graduate says international agreements apply to people fleeing violence or persecution, and not mass migrations from places like Syria, Honduras, El Salvador and North Africa.<\/span><\/p>\n Carrese worked with refugees from Bhutan while she was in high school in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and went to Mexico to work with refugees fleeing violence in Central America.<\/span><\/p>\n At Oxford, Carrese says, she plans to look for ways to provide aid so people won\u2019t have to flee their homes and find new policies for countries to deal with mass influxes of refugees.<\/span><\/p>\n FOCUSED ON STUDYING BUDDHISM<\/span><\/p>\n A college graduate who grew up in a Tibetan Buddhist community in California plans to study the faith in more depth at Oxford University after he she won a Rhodes Scholarship from the venerable British institution.<\/span><\/p>\n Pema McLaughlin, 22, a graduate of Reed College in Portland, says she plans to pursue a two-year master\u2019s degree in Buddhist Studies.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI finished my degree in religious studies at Reed this past spring, and that gave me a realty broad base to consider the role of religion in modern society,\u201d McLaughlin said. \u201cMy (college) thesis focused on Buddhism in America.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n At Oxford, she wants to student Sanskrit and the Tibetan language \u201cto extend my study of religion across cultures back into the past,\u201d McLaughlin said.<\/span><\/p>\n She grew up in a Tibetan Buddhist community in Junction City, California. Her mother was a longtime administrator there, McLaughlin said.<\/span><\/p>\n McLaughlin says she plans to study for a doctorate in religious studies once she completes her master\u2019s degree at Oxford.<\/span><\/p>\n STUDENT ATHLETE OVERCOME ABUSE<\/span><\/p>\n A safety for the Texas Christian University football team overcame poverty, homelessness and abuse founded a youth outreach organization on his way to becoming a scholar.<\/span><\/p>\n Caylin L. Moore, of the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, is a senior at TCU studying economics. His father was sentenced to life in prison on a murder charge, the Rhodes Trust said.<\/span><\/p>\n Moore founded S.P.A.R.K., a youth outreach organization of student-athletes who encourage disadvantaged children to attend college. He also is as a volunteer for the Children\u2019s Defense Fund. He will pursue a master\u2019s of public policy at Oxford.<\/span><\/p>\n STUDIES PITFALLS OF HUMAN GENETIC ENGINEERING<\/span><\/p>\n A 23-year-old from Tacoma, Washington, who plans to combine his knowledge of genetics and philosophy to help guide tough ethical decisions as advancing technologies make designing humans possible was selected as a Rhodes Scholar on Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n Anthony W. L. \u201cWilder\u201d Wohns says the pitfalls of human genetic engineering are many and varied and his studies at Oxford University will prepare him to face those challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n Wohns graduated from Harvard University in 2016 where he studied human evolutionary biology and computer science.<\/span><\/p>\n He\u2019s currently at the University of Cambridge studying for a master of arts in biological anthropology.<\/span><\/p>\n As a Rhodes Scholar, he\u2019ll pursue post-graduate studies at Oxford University in 2017. He plans to obtain a second bachelor\u2019s degree in computer science and philosophy.<\/span><\/p>\n Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/span><\/p>\n Source:\u00a0https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national\/energy-environment\/rhodes-scholars-for-class-of-2017-announced\/2016\/11\/20\/23a771ea-af82-11e6-bc2d-19b3d759cfe7_story.html<\/span><\/p>\n