Aggie on the ‘Rhode’ to success
For the second time in school history, a Utah State University student is a Rhodes Scholar.
Lara Anderson, the 2003 valedictorian in the College of Science was selected as one of 32 American scholars to receive the prestigious scholarship. Anderson will begin studying at the University of Oxford in England in October 2004, where she will remain for two or three years.
“It was just amazing, I was totally, totally baffled,” Anderson said. “I was very surprised.”
Anderson is the first Rhodes Scholar to come from USU since 1982. She said she intends to pursue a doctorate degree at Oxford in mathematical physics studying super-symmetry, quantum gravity and various other quantum field theories.
This year, 963 students from 366 colleges applied for the Rhodes award. Other schools with students receiving the award include Harvard, Yale, Michigan and the University of California Berkeley.
“That’s very good for the university,” said USU President Kermit L. Hall. “That’s the kind of company that we need to be in.”
Hall chaired the Rhodes Scholarship competition for the state of Utah and said it was a very strong group of applicants this year. He said there was unanimous support for Anderson to represent the state in the national competition.
“It doesn’t surprise me much at all that she won,” Hall said.
Two days prior to hearing she was a Rhodes Scholar, Anderson said she was awarded a Marshall Scholarship. The Marshall Scholarship is similar to the Rhodes Scholarship in that it sends students from the United States to attend school in the United Kingdom.
Having received both awards, Anderson said she had to turn one of them down. She said she turned the Marshall Scholarship down because there are alternates selected for that award.
“More people get good stuff,” she said. “Getting a full ride to a university is just an incredible thing.”
After Anderson decided to apply for the awards, she said she had to receive a nomination from USU to apply. After meeting with David Lancy, the director of the honors program, she said she was able to begin the application process.
“It was absolutely, ridiculously time-consuming,” Anderson said.
Prior to starting her application, Anderson said she had read somewhere that a good application takes around 100 hours to prepare. She said she thought it wouldn’t take her that long.
“By the end, I really had [taken that much time,]” she said. “It’s well worth the time even if you don’t get the
scholarship.”
The path to becoming a Rhodes Scholar started in home school for Anderson. She said the experience of learning at home was beneficial to her in preparing for college.
“I was able to study a lot of things on my own and go through some subjects a little more rapidly,” she said. “I had a very firm background in mathematics and it really gave me the opportunity to explore a lot of areas in really great depth.”
Anderson said she never had aspirations in the direction of becoming a Rhodes Scholar.
“My entire goal has been just to do some good work in physics,” she said. “I thought it was fairly unlikely [I’d win the awards.]”
Hall said Anderson’s awards are a good thing for USU.
“It’s a great reminder that we have talented students on campus,” he said. “It will certainly help to remind everyone as well, how important Utah State is as a place of serious intellectual as well as leadership development.”
The awards also emphasize the importance of Utah’s two research universities. Hall said last year University of Utah student Kristen Domic received the Rhodes Scholar award.
“It’s a good reminder that the research universities are doing a wonderful job of bringing opportunity to Utah,” Hall said. “It certainly helps to futher identify the university.”
Hall said he predicted great things for Anderson in the future.
“It is evident to those with only a casual acquaintance with Lara and her work that she has a brilliant scholarly career ahead of her,” Hall said. “Her portfolio will be the gold standard by which all of our best and brightest are guided and measured.”
Anderson said she will now prepare to leave the United States for the first time. Aside from studying at Oxford, Anderson said she will enjoy participating in the martial arts dojos and soccer activities in the area – two of her favorite things. One of her other favorite things, learning, is something Anderson said she will participate a lot in, but she said she is well-prepared.
“The faculty and staff here at USU, from Dr. Lancy in the honors department to all the other professors in the physics department and math department have been so wonderful through this whole process,” Anderson said.
As for those at USU that Anderson speaks so highly about? They think pretty highly of Anderson.
“Lara is truly an exceptional student,” said Donald Fiesinger, dean of the College of Science. “I couldn’t ask for a better representative of the College of Science and for Utah State University.”
-str@cc.usu.edu