Two students from A&AA are finalists for prestigious international academic honors—one for a Rhodes scholarship and one for a Marshall scholarship.

Mika Weinstein, a planning, public policy and management major and biology minor, was chosen as a finalist for the Rhodes scholarship. Maggie Witt, a history of art and architecture and English double major, was named a finalist for the Marshall scholarship.

Above: Mika Weinstein (left) and Maggie Witt. Photographs by Melissa Foley.

“What solidified my interest in the Rhodes scholarship was traveling to Oxford last spring break as a Stern Fellow and being on the campus,” said Weinstein. “Seeing what an Oxford education is definitely made me want to apply.”

A native of San Anselmo, California, Weinstein wants to help people worldwide with study about sustainable agricultural practices.

“I’m really interested in food and agricultural policy,” said Weinstein. “On the ambitious side, I would love to work with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. They do some really awesome projects internationally, with some local and national organizations involved in that work, too.”

The oldest international fellowship, the Rhodes scholarship brings outstanding students from around the world to the University of Oxford for two years of study. First awarded to Americans in 1904, thirty-two students from the United States are selected each year as Rhodes scholars.

Witt, who hails from Ashland, Oregon, intends to earn a Ph.D. and pursue a career in academia.

“I want to become a professor and my ultimate goal is [to be] university president, so this scholarship would mean everything,” said Witt. “Entering that world is incredibly difficult, so having a distinction like this means I can pursue the dreams that I want to achieve.”

The Marshall scholarship was established by the British Parliament in 1953 to honor former U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall. Scholars can pursue any field of study and the scholarship covers fees, cost-of-living expenses, books, and research fees for two years.

Each year, as many as forty Marshall scholars are selected from the United States to study at the graduate level in the United Kingdom to strengthen the relationship between Americans and the British.

The University of Oregon has produced nineteen Rhodes scholars, including Andrew Shipley in 2007, and four Marshall scholars, including Josh Lupton in 2011 and Tamela Maciel in 2010.