Two Jefferson Scholars from the Class of 2017 receive Rhodes Scholarships

The Rhodes Trust announced yesterday the names of 32 American students selected as 2017 Rhodes Scholars. Among this year’s winners are two Jefferson Scholars, Aryn Frazier and Lauren Jackson. Both came to the University in 2013 only after receiving Jefferson Scholarships. As Rhodes Scholars, they will receive the full cost of attendance for two years of graduate study at Oxford University and were selected not only for their outstanding scholarly achievements, but also for their character, commitment to the common good, and for their leadership potential.

Aryn, the Thomas J. and Hillary D. Baltimore Jefferson Scholar, is a politics honors and African-American studies major and plans to pursue a master of philosophy degree in comparative politics. Lauren, the R.E. Lee Wilson Jefferson Scholar, is a social and political thought major and plans to pursue a master of philosophy degree in International Relations. With their selection in the Rhodes Scholars program, there have now been 10 Jefferson Scholars in the last 20 years to receive this highly competitive award.

“All of us at the Foundation are proud of the impact that Aryn and Lauren have had on the University community over the last three and a half years. We are grateful that the Rhodes Trust recognized their record of achievement and selected them out of the nearly 900 students competing for the 2017 Rhodes Scholarship,” said Jimmy Wright, president of the Jefferson Scholars Foundation. 

Learn more about the selection process Aryn and Lauren underwent here. Read the UVA Today press release here.