Athens, Ga. – University of Georgia Honors student Juliet Elizabeth Allan of Atlanta has been awarded a 2013 Rhodes Scholarship to attend England’s Oxford University, where she plans to pursue a master’s degree in Modern Middle Eastern Studies. She is one of 32 Rhodes recipients in the United States.
Allan, who is a UGA Foundation Fellow, plans to graduate from UGA in December with bachelor’s degrees in Arabic, economics, and international affairs as well as a master’s degree in international policy.
Allan is UGA’s fourth Rhodes Scholar in the past six years. Before Allan, UGA’s most recent recipient was Tracy Yang in 2011.
“Elizabeth Allan is a very talented young woman, and we are excited that she is our 23rd Rhodes Scholar,” said UGA President Michael F. Adams. “She is emblematic of the quality of the UGA student body today. All of us are excited about this latest development in her life.”
Allan has traveled to six different continents through various UGA study abroad programs. She studied Arabic in Morocco through the State Department’s Critical Language Scholarship and, separately, as part of a UGA Maymester program. Ultimately, she would like to serve in the State Department’s Office of Policy Planning.
“I am beyond excited to have the opportunity to study at Oxford next year, and I look forward to deepening my understanding of the Middle East through my studies,” Allan said. “The entire process has been extremely humbling and fulfilling. I want to thank my family, friends, the University of Georgia, the Foundation Fellowship at UGA and my high school community of The Westminster Schools in Atlanta.”
Allan is a member of UGA’s chapter of the Roosevelt Institute, a national student-run think tank, where she has written papers about energy policy and education and has also taught policy analysis to undergraduates. Allan has participated in the university’s Center for Undergraduate Research Symposium and presented results of her research on employment dynamics at two national conferences. She has also interned at the university’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government, through which she traveled to China during an annual training program the institute conducts in Beijing.
“Receiving a Rhodes Scholarship is a significant recognition for Elizabeth, but also for the faculty members who have mentored her as well as the friends and family who have encouraged and supported her,” said Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Jere Morehead.
Allan has served as the co-director of the Thomas Lay After School Tutoring Program, where more than 100 UGA students provide educational help to elementary and middle school students in Athens each semester. She also has researched issues involving early childhood education. She is a Presidential Scholar and member of the Phi Kappa Phi, Palladia, and Blue Key honor societies.
“Elizabeth is deeply committed to whatever she does,” said David S. Williams, associate provost and director of UGA’s Honors Program and the Foundation Fellowship, and the UGA faculty representative for the Rhodes Scholarship. “She not only has an uncommon intellect, but also has a great heart and boundless energy. She is destined to make a very positive impact on the world.”
Rhodes Scholars are chosen in a two-stage process. Candidates must first be endorsed by their college or university; then selection committees in each of 16 districts invite the strongest applicants for an interview. This year, 838 students were endorsed by 302 colleges and universities.
For more information about the Rhodes Scholarship program, see www.rhodesscholar.org.
For more information about UGA’s Honors and Foundation Fellows Programs, see www.uga.edu/honors.