Three Outstanding Aotearoa New Zealand Students Awarded Rhodes Scholarships

Three exceptional students from Aotearoa New Zealand have been named as Rhodes Scholars, one of the most prestigious scholarship programmes in the world. Established in 1903, the Rhodes Scholarship is the oldest international scholarship programme, bringing outstanding young people together from around the world to study at the University of Oxford.

The selection panel, which in New Zealand is chaired by Governor-General Her Excellency The Rt Hon Dame Cindy Kiro, seeks young people with proven academic excellence who also show exceptional character, leadership, and commitment to solving humanity’s challenges.

The Rhodes Trust is proud of the diversity of its Scholars in terms of background, academic focus, involvement in local community, religion, ethnicity, and gender identity selected from more than 60 territories across the globe.

Brittany Dick

Brittany Dick from Nelson recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Historical Forces, Arts and Literature from Minerva University, San Francisco. As a Rhodes Scholar Brittany will complete a Master of Philosophy in the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology at the University of Oxford.

While researching her undergraduate dissertation about Māori pregnancy and childbirth traditions and the colonial forces that disrupted them, Brittany resolved to bring to light the untold and painful stories of the past. She says, “I reflected on what I wanted future generations to be born into and became determined to ensure that our pasts are addressed and accessible.”

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Brittany has been active in her community from a very early age, including working as a Youth Advisor to the Office of the Children’s Commissioner on issues concerning Māori tamariki, and her recent work as Taituarā for Māori Hauora Services, where she helped develop procedures for organising and running vaccination clinics to vaccinate hard-to-reach Māori whānau in Te Tau Ihu.

Her referees and mentors describe her as “a credit to Aotearoa” and “a natural leader with sensitivity, wit, drive, and intellectual adroitness”, “a rare talent” and “an obvious star in the making”.

Brittany will continue her excellent work at Oxford University at what will likely be one of many highlights in her career. Building from her undergraduate research she says, “In my time engaging with this topic over the past 18 months, I’ve observed the immense power that we can access as Māori and as humans by knowing our pasts, as painful as they may be. That is why I wish to continue exploring links between our people, the environment, and our health through the lens of traditional medicines as a form of cultural technology.”

Meredith Ross-James

Meredith Ross-James from Wellington recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons First Class) in Philosophy from Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington. She was on the Dean’s List for three consecutive years and is the recipient of various academic awards and prizes including the Maurice Goldsmith Prize for the top graduating philosophy student across each year of her undergraduate study.

An early and frightening experience brought on by social isolation and lack of community saw Meredith spiral into a two-year period of immersing herself in extremist forums online. The experience of overcoming this has given her a unique perspective and valuable insight into how online extremist communities operate and has formed the foundation of her ongoing research.

At Oxford she will complete a Bachelor of Philosophy where she will continue to research social contexts of knowledge, particularly in politically extremist communities.

Meredith has been a committed activist for many years advocating for various causes such as LGBTQ+ rights, abortion access, union issues, speaking out against racism, and more.

Described as having “deep sympathy for and protection of the weak” as well as “moral force of character” and “energy and commitment”, Meredith’s referees all agree that her deep intellect, genuine humanity, and fearless drive to advocate for marginalised groups will make her an outstanding future leader.

Meredith says, “In the future, I want to make contributions to the fields of social epistemology, political theory, and counterterrorism studies to advance this mission, promoting empathy and care along the way among academics, citizens, and politicians alike.”

Thomas Swinburn

Thomas (Tom) Swinburn will soon be graduating with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, and Bachelor of Medical Science (Hons First Class) from the University of Auckland. As a Rhodes Scholar he intends to complete a Master of Science in Global Health Science and Epidemiology.

Tom is the recipient of a number of prestigious awards. In 2023 alone he received a Kupe Leadership Scholarship, Service and Leadership Blues Award and a Distinguished Graduate Award from the University of Auckland. Also in 2023, he was elected as President of the New Zealand Medical Students’ Association, won the Margaret Sparrow Prize for best sexual health presentation at the New Zealand Sexual Health Society conference, and received a COVID-19 Response Recognition Award from the New Zealand Government.

During his six years at medical school, Tom developed a deep sense of the challenges facing modern healthcare, and the need for a much greater focus on preventive and population health. Drawing from his experiences working in both South Auckland and the Himalayas, Tom’s aim is to research epidemiology in order to address New Zealand’s health inequities, particularly life expectancy gaps.

“I recognise increasingly that population health – let alone improving it – is a fraught and contested ambition. At Oxford, I seek a transdisciplinary community with varied outlooks that can help me understand and integrate different perspectives – philosophical, economic, political – so that I can pinpoint where the tensions lie and how these might be influenced to champion population health goals.”

As all of Tom’s referees note, his exemplary academic record places him in the top of the top 1%. However, this is matched by his “courage, trustworthiness, industry, compassion and advocacy.” Described as an “outstanding individual with an extremely bright future” and as “one of a kind”, there is no doubt that Tom will find academic and creative inspiration at Oxford.

Dame Cindy congratulated the winners saying, “I am always delighted to meet the exceptional young people who have been shortlisted for the Rhodes Scholarship. The winners this year – Brittany, Meredith, and Thomas – represent the very best of the best. These extraordinary young New Zealanders are exemplars of academic excellence and outstanding character, and I look forward to following their careers as they become leaders in their fields.”

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