Nov 24, 2008 6:32 pm US/Central
2 Northwestern Students Named Rhodes Scholars
1 From Buffalo Grove, 1 From Washington State
EVANSTON, Ill. (CBS) ―
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Two Northwestern University students were named Rhodes Scholars, so after graduation they're off to study at the University of Oxford in England.
CBS
Out of 32 Americans who have just been chosen as Rhodes Scholars, two of them are Northwestern University students. CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman introduces us to these remarkable women.
Anna Yermakova, of Buffalo Grove, is a senior at Northwestern, where she majors in biochemistry, piano, and history and philosophy of science and logic – a curriculum she designed herself. She has won national awards for piano and French, has done research in chemical engineering and nanotechnology at the University of Washington, neuroscience at Northwestern, and biomedical engineering at the University of Chicago, and has competed in ballroom dancing, salsa and flamenco.
"There's a lot more time in the day than people think," Yermakova said. "If you turn off the TV and try to prioritize things and have time management skills."
Another senior has similar skills. Her name is Mallory Dwinal. Like Anna, she is a senior at Northwestern and a triple major in Spanish, economics, and international studies. She also studied in Qinghua University in Beijing. In 2006, Mallory founded a program that coordinates and funds English as a second language education in Chicago elementary schools, the release said. Also since 2006, she has been leader of a daily meals program at a homeless shelter.
"I really love what I'm studying," Dwinal said. "I love what I'm doing. It doesn't seem like a lot to me because I enjoy every minute of what I'm doing."
Both women will take their love of learning to a level few do.
They just found out they're Rhodes Scholars, so after graduation they're off to study at the University of Oxford in England. Rhodes Scholarships provide all expenses for two or three years of study, and may allow funding in some instances for four years. The total value of the scholarship averages approximately $50,000 per year, a Rhodes Trust news release said.
One professor called it an immeasurable opportunity.
"You're meeting all the future leaders from all over the world," said Office of Fellowships Director Sara Anson Vaux. "It's just great networking, very exciting."
And oh, so selective - 767 of the nation's best and brightest were competing for the 32 scholarships.
Anna and Mallory credit hard work.
"Just having a sincere desire to want to acquire knowledge and understand how things work," Yermakova said.
"See what interests you and let the rest follow naturally," Dwinal said.
Mallory will focus on alternative forms of education within immigrant communities at Oxford. Anna will study mathematical biology.
Coincidentally, once upon a time Anna was like the students Mallory tutors. She came to the U.S. from Russia when she was 11, and had to learn the language and culture. Both women have very bright futures.
Rhodes scholarships were created in 1902 by the will of Cecil Rhodes, British philanthropist and African colonial pioneer. The first class of American Rhodes Scholars entered Oxford in 1904; those elected Saturday will enter Oxford in October 2009. Women have only been eligible to apply for the scholarship since 1976 and so far 408 American women have won the coveted scholarship.
CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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