Northeastern Student Named Rhodes Scholar

Greg St. Martin and Joe O’Connell
Northeastern News

North­eastern Uni­ver­sity senior Logan Jackson has been named a Rhodes scholar, the first time in uni­ver­sity his­tory one of its stu­dents has received the pres­ti­gious scholarship.

Jackson, a civil engi­neering major, is one of 32 Rhodes scholars for the Class of 2016. The win­ners, who were selected Sat­urday by the Rhodes Trust, were chosen from 869 appli­cants endorsed by 316 col­leges and uni­ver­si­ties. The schol­ar­ships cover all expenses for two or three years of post-​​graduate study at Oxford Uni­ver­sity in Eng­land, where the scholars will begin their studies next October.

“It’s pretty sur­prising,” Jackson said by phone Sunday night from Mary­land, where she is cur­rently working on co-​​op. “I’m still get­ting used to the news. I’m looking for­ward to going to Eng­land next year.”

The Rhodes schol­ar­ship is among the most pres­ti­gious awards an under­grad­uate stu­dent in the United States can receive. The stu­dents must demon­strate aca­d­emic excel­lence. Other impor­tant cri­teria include showing great promise of lead­er­ship, being com­mitted to make a strong dif­fer­ence for good in the world, and having great per­sonal energy, ambi­tion for impact, an ability to work with others and to achieve one’s goals.

Jonna Iacono, director of Northeastern’s Scholars Pro­gram and Office of Under­grad­uate Research and Fel­low­ships, described Jackson as a nuanced and sophis­ti­cated thinker who has dis­played a great pas­sion for learning.

“She’s amazing,” Iacono said of Jackson. “She’s intel­lec­tu­ally vora­cious and aca­d­e­m­i­cally curious. She has a dis­tin­guished aca­d­emic record in a very rig­orous cur­riculum. Every part of her aca­d­emic expe­ri­ence, from her research to her co-​​op expe­ri­ences, has been chal­lenging at the highest levels.”

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