2 with Wisconsin ties named as Rhodes Scholars
The Associated PressChicago Tribune
A senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Wisconsin native who is studying at Princeton University are among 32 American students named Rhodes Scholars for 2012.
Alexis Brown is an English and history major at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The Algonquin, Ill., native applied for the scholarship so she could finish her master's degree in English language and literature.
"I am excited and, mostly, I'm just shocked," Brown told The Associated Press on Sunday. She said she learned Saturday that she was selected for the prestigious scholarship.
Brown, who said she felt "tongue-tied," thanked her professors and others at the University of Wisconsin who supported her along the way.
"I'm just so grateful," she said. "It still doesn't feel real."
She has never been out of the country and said the idea of studying at Oxford University in England for two to three years excites her. Her goal is to be an English professor someday.
Brown said she believes literature has a social impact. "I don't think that English scholars are in this kind of ivory tower anymore," she said. "They are very much a part of the world around them."