The scholarship, established in 1902 through the will of Cecil Rhodes, provides full financial support for two to three years of postgraduate work at Oxford for students focused on exemplary academic study and public service. The eight students from Harvard will start at Oxford in the fall, pursuing graduate studies in a diversity of fields - from computer science to comparative literature.
Fajr Khan has learned the value of small things - giving somebody a meal, providing a safe place to sleep, or being fully engaged during a conversation with a lonely person. Most her volunteer work with homeless people has been done quietly. But now the senior is trying to grasp a very different experience that is not so anonymous: winning a Rhodes Scholarship. "It still hasn't really settled in," Khan said with a laugh. "It just feels very not real. There's like this level of disbelief. But it's very cool and exciting."
