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Brittany Graham named Dalhousie's 89th Rhodes Scholar

Posted by Media Centre on December 2, 2014 in Students, News, Science

Dalhousie's Brittany Graham, a fourth year microbiology and immunology student, has been selected as a Rhodes Scholar for 2015. She is Dalhousie's 89th Rhodes Scholar. This is the third consecutive year that a Dalhousie student has been awarded the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship.

Key Points:

  • The Rhodes Scholarship is a distinguished award for high-achieving students that allows them to pursue post-graduate studies at Oxford University. Established under the will of Cecil Rhodes, the scholarships have been awarded since 1903. Rhodes Scholars are selected based on academic distinction, integrity of character, passion for community and their field, and leadership ability.

  • Brittany Graham is a fourth year student pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree, with combined honours in microbiology and immunology and creative writing. After graduating from Dalhousie in April 2015, she'll study Global Health Science at Oxford. Graham has already received several scholarships and awards, including a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Undergraduate Student Research Award.

  • Graham is from Ottawa, ON. Her volunteering experience is vast, spanning disciplines and borders. She spent facilitating a summer reading camp at the Eabametoong First Nation in northern Ontario. Through Global Brigades (Graham is president of Dal’s chapter), she has done volunteer work in Panama and will do more in Honduras in 2015. In addition, she’s a volunteer tutor for middle and high school students.

  • With a keen interest in creative writing, Graham is also the managing editor for Dalhousie’s literary journal Fathom.

Pull Quotes:

  • “For me, writing is a way to slow down and think about what’s going on. As a student in Science it can be easy to bury your head in a textbook, but as a writer you need to be aware of what’s going on in the world. You learn to see the world through other people’s perspectives.” -- Brittany Graham, fourth year student and new Rhodes Scholar.

  • "In my Science classes, when we’re learning about bacteria and viruses and how they work, the focus is on the microbes and not on the people or communities being affected. We don’t necessarily discuss how some of these diseases, like cholera or tuberculosis, primarily affect people in disadvantaged communities or developing countries. Because of Creative Writing, and the broader perspective it gives me, I think about my Science classes differently.”-- Brittany Graham, fourth year student and new Rhodes Scholar.

Images:

Brittany Graham
Photo Credit: Danny Abriel
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Brittany Graham
Photo Credit: Danny Abriel
Download Hi-Res image
Brittany Graham
Photo Credit: Danny Abriel
Download Hi-Res image

Resource Links:

Dalhousie Links:

Contacts:

  • Nikki Comeau, Communications Officer - Dalhousie Univeristy: +1 (902) 494-4189 / nikki.comeau@dal.ca
  • Janet Bryson, Senior Communications Advisor - Dalhousie University: +1 (902) 494-1269 / janet.bryson@dal.ca