Houstonian earns Rhodes scholarship

Zain Shauk
Houston Chronicle
Houston, TX

A Bellaire High School graduate was selected Saturday for a Rhodes scholarship.

Stanford University alumnus Anand Habib, 22, found out about the honor after an interview Saturday in Houston. He was one of two Texas candidates selected for the award, which will give him a free ride to pursue graduate studies at the University of Oxford.

Habib left Houston on Sunday to return to Haiti, where he is working at a medical clinic about 100 miles outside of Port-au-Prince, said his mother, Geetha Habib, 57.

He hopes eventually to pursue a medical degree in the United States. "He wants to go to medical school and serve the community here," she said.

Anand Habib was a standout student from a young age and represented Bellaire in quiz bowl, debate and economics competitions, Geetha Habib said. He was selected as a National Merit Scholar and was the valedictorian for the class of 2007.

At Stanford Habib was a member of Dance Marathon, an organization that raised awareness and money for HIV and AIDS prevention efforts around the world. He graduated with a biology degree in June with an overall grade point average of 4.088.

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