UGA’s most recent Rhodes winners hope to advance international relations as they enter the field.
Natalie Navarrete AB ’23, AB ’23, AB ’23 and Mariah Cady AB ’23, AB ’23 graduated a semester apart, but they followed similar paths. Both were Foundation Fellows; took part in the university’s Russian Flagship Program, a federally funded languages initiative; and studied abroad in Kazakhstan. They even studied Russian in Hawai’i together.
Now, they’ll be able to reconnect in Oxford. Navarrete completed her first year in Oxford in June and has embraced the academic-focused nature of campus, and Cady will begin her studies in October.
Navarrete received bachelor’s degrees in international affairs, Russian, and Spanish, and minored in Latin American and Caribbean studies. At Oxford, she’s pursuing a Master of Philosophy degree focused on the former Soviet space and is relishing the chance to connect with scholars from across the world.
“I don’t think I would have been able to find people who are so engaged in a very specific context, with so many different perspectives and so many different backgrounds anywhere else,” she says. “I’ve learned so much in so little time.”
Cady graduated with degrees in Russian and international affairs, minoring in geography, German, and teaching English to speakers of other languages. In Oxford, she is pursuing two master’s degrees with the goal of deepening her language studies and critically reflecting on ways that governments can enhance refugee resettlement policies.
Her goal is to make a difference through diplomacy, and the opportunity to observe work at Oxford’s Refugee Studies Center, which is known for its dual research/policy projects that serve local and international refugee populations, is especially exciting.
“As I pursue a career in either government or INGO [International Non-Governmental Organization] work in this field, my studies at Oxford will be a critical time for reflecting critically on potential convictions for improving our refugee programs,” Cady says.
And Navarrete is excited to welcome another Bulldog to Oxford and to the Rhodes Scholar circle.
“I’m still always so grateful and in awe of all of the people, programs, systems, buildings, everything that UGA does and has to support students’ curiosity,” she says. “And I think about all the time that there were so many butterfly effect moments that I had at UGA, and without those I wouldn’t have this opportunity right now.”
