Each year, thousands of accomplished students from throughout the country apply for the honor to be a Rhodes Scholar at the Oxford University. This year, UW-Madison seniors Kyra Fox and Ross Dahlke were named finalists for the prestigious award.
The Rhodes Scholarship provides accomplished students throughout the country with all expenses for two or three years of study at Oxford. The Rhodes Trust judges candidates on a proven record of intellectual and academic achievement, integrity of character, interest in and respect for others, leadership
Fox and Dahlke were among 228 students from throughout the country who made it to the final stage of this competition.
Fox is a double major in international studies and psychology who is also working towards a certificate in African studies and honors in the liberal arts. During her four years at UW-Madison, she earned two competitive university research fellowships and has been elected to the Phi Beta Kappa national academic honor society.
Additionally, Fox is a founding member of the UW Interfaith Network and is an undergraduate scholar with the university’s newly launched Center for Religion and Global Citizenry.
Fox attributed her accomplishment to those she met at the university.
“I would have never considered these scholarships on my own,” Fox told The Daily Cardinal. “It was this community at UW-Madison — my professors, my coworkers, my floormates from freshman year — that pushed me to go for it.”
Dahlke — a double major in journalism and political science with comprehensive honors in the liberal arts and journalism — teaches a weekly seminar at UW-Madison and has won many awards on campus, including an Honors Senior Thesis Summer Research Grant.
According to Dahlke, having two finalists from two different majors speaks to UW-Madison’s prestige.
“The fact that UW-Madison had two finalists with two very different academic pursuits shows that the University of Wisconsin-Madison is among the best universities in the nation for combining breadth and depth of academic opportunities,” Dahlke told The Daily Cardinal.
In a statement, Provost Sarah Mangelsdorf said both students are natives of Wisconsin, which she believes reflects UW–Madison’s commitment to
“They embody the kind of Wisconsin Experience we hope all students will have here — one that is rich in opportunities for intellectual and personal growth and that sparks purposeful action in the world,” she said in the university release.
