Tenzin Seldon, a Tibetan student at Stanford University majoring in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, has become the first Tibetan-American to win the prestigious Rhodes scholarship. Last year, she won another prestigious Truman Scholarship.
Seldon is the second Tibetan to win the prestigious Rhodes scholarship. In 1992, Tashi Rabgey, a Canadian-Tibetan and the founder of the Tibet Sustainable Governance Program at the University of Virginia University in Charlottesville who is currently a visiting scholar at the Elliott School of International Affairs of George Washington University won the Rhodes Scholarship.
Commenting on winning the prestigious scholarship, Tenzin Seldon said: “This scholarship is a product of the unconditional love, faith, and support I received from my mentors, friends, and family members and I will leverage this amazing opportunity to create a significant impact for the cause of Tibet and human rights around the globe.” With the Rhodes scholarship, Tenzin plans to do the M.Sc. in refugee and forced migration studies as well as M.Sc. in modern Chinese studies at Oxford.
The Rhodes Scholarships are the oldest and most celebrated international fellowship awards in the world. Announcing the 2012 Rhodes Scholars on 19 November, Mr Elliot F. Gerson, American Secretary of the Rhodes Trust, said: “Rhodes Scholars are chosen not only for their outstanding scholarly achievements, but for their character, commitment to others and to the common good, and for their potential for leadership in whatever domains their careers may lead.”
At Stanford University, Seldon has displayed an outstanding scholarship aptitude as well as leadership quality. Apart from being currently on the Board of Stanford Daily, a campus newspaper, and coordinator and a student leader of President Obama’s Interfaith and Community Service Challenge, Seldon has played a diverse leadership role at the Stanford University. Last year, she organized a dialogue between His Holiness and mainland Chinese students and scholars during his visit to Stanford.
The Rhodes Trust pays all college and university fees, provides a stipend to cover necessary expenses while in residence in Oxford as well as during vacations, and transportation to and from England.
