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Alumna named Rhodes Scholarship finalist

November 10, 2008

Susana Hancock, a 2007 Connecticut College graduate, has been selected as a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship. She has been invited to interview later this month in Boston, one of 16 Rhodes districts in the United States. She will interview with about a dozen other candidates, and from that group two Rhodes Scholars are expected to be selected.

"This is an important milestone as we continue to raise the College's national profile," said Connecticut College President Leo I. Higdon Jr. "This achievement is the result of the College's efforts to develop a fellowship office to actively cultivate potential students and also work with students and recent graduates through the application and interview process."

Last year, Connecticut College had five Fulbright Scholars, as well as finalists for the Marshall, Truman and Udall scholarships and two Goldwater honorable mentions, Higdon added.

In her senior year at Connecticut College, Hancock was named a Winthrop Scholar, the college's highest academic award, given to members of the senior class who demonstrate exceptional scholarship, personal fitness and promise. A Linguistics and Slavic Studies major at Connecticut College, Hancock won the Slavic Studies Award for Consistent Excellence in 2007 and the Best Translation of Slavic Fiction Award in 2006 and 2007. She also earned the Svetlana Kasem-Beg Award for fluency and pronunciation in Russian in 2005.

Since graduating from Connecticut College in 2007, Hancock has studied at Universitetet i Tromsø in Norway where, in addition to her work at the Center for Advanced Study in Theoretical Linguistics and the Institute for Social Anthropology, she presided over the northern Norway chapter of Amnesty International and played cello in the regional Norwegian orchestra. Additionally, Hancock was invited to be the opening speaker for International Women's Day Conference in Norway.

Rhodes Scholarships provide all expenses for two or three years of study at the University of Oxford in England. The Rhodes Scholarships, the oldest and best known award for international study, were created in 1902.

These criteria are high academic achievement, integrity of character, a spirit of unselfishness, respect for others, potential for leadership, and physical vigor. Rhodes Scholars are chosen in a two-stage process. First, candidates must be endorsed by their college or university. Committees of Selection in each of 16 districts then invite the strongest applicants to appear before them for interview.

For media inquiries contact: Amy Martin (860) 439-2526; a.martin@conncoll.edu