Eight Harvard Students Named Rhodes Scholars

Eight students from Harvard have been awarded Rhodes Scholarships, more than any other university, according to the list of American winners released yesterday.

The six undergraduate winners, all seniors, are Priya R. Aiyar of Lowell House; Ahmad I. Atwan of Kirkland House; David V. Bonfili of Dunster House; Alice I. Chen, a Currier resident; Ramin Toloui of Leverett House; and Mark Wu '95-'96, a Currier affiliate who lives of campus.

Jeremy A. Dauber '95 and Jennifer E. DeVoe, a student at the Medical School, were also awarded the scholarships, which pay for two years of study at Oxford University.

Harvard averages about six Khodes Scholars each year, according to Paul A. Bohlmann, acting director of fellowships at the Office of Career Services.

The winners, who were all notified immediately following their interviews, yesterday expressed excitement at being chosen.

"I'm very, very happy and very, very surprised," said Dauber, who is now working for a "non-profit foundation that specializes in Jewish educational policy."

Dauber, a former Crimson editor, served as chair of Hillel while at Harvard, in addition to working as editor in chief of Mosaic, a journal of Jewish studies, and directing a play, "The Nerd"

A former social studies concentrator, he said he plans to earn a doctorate in modern Jewish studies at Oxford and become a "socially-engaged academic."

He is currently an alumni affiliate and Senior Common Room member at Lowell House, where he lived while an undergraduate.

The other scholars shared similar emotions after hearing of their awards.

"I feel ecstatic," Atwan said in a telephone interview. "I never really envisioned the chance to be in a position to win a Rhodes, much less win it."

Atwan attributed his award in part to the College.

"Harvard's system prepares you for the Rhodes process, which is based on interviews and based on well-roundedness, on being able to talk and express yourself in many different ways," he said.

He expressed surprise at being selected despite the fact that he was not present for an important cocktail reception before his interview.

"Usually that would eliminate you from the running," he said.

"Chicago's airport was snowed in. Myself and one other Harvard student were the only ones who missed the reception. We called the committee and they said to take the earliest flight," he said.

"We took a 6 a.m. flight the next morning," he said. "Even on two hours of sleep we had pretty good interviews, I think."

The Chair of the Fellows Committee at the IOP, Atwan was the treasurer and a founding member of the Harvard-Radcliffe Republican Alliance.

An economics concentrator, he hopes to study modern Middle Eastern studies and economics at Oxford, focusing on the economic and political implications of the peace agreements in the Middle East.

Another of the scholars said he was relieved that the week of interviews was over. "I feel great. It was a long week and I'm glad that it ended this way," Toloui said.

An economics concentrator, Toloui refuted the notion that Rhodes scholars share any special characteristic.

"I think that you don't do anything special," he said. "Just study hard in school, take your vitamins every morning. I think really at the end it's just focusing in the interview."

Among the questions the scholarship committee asked Toloui during his three interviews, he said, the most memorable were "What's the difference between knowledge and belief?" and "What should the U.S. do about human rights violations in China?"

Toloui said the committee also asked about his favorite piece of art-work (Picasso's "Guernica") and his favorite ancient Persian king (Xerxes, because of his "clever politics during the Peloponnesian War").

In addition to serving as the editor-in-chief of the Harvard International Review, Toloui was the community outreach director of the Small Claims Advisory Service and a member of the board of the Harvard International Relations Council.

"I would like to become involved in academia, to be involved in foreign policy-related academic research," he said.

One winner professed to having mixed emotions. Wu said he experienced "shock and an unreal kind of feeling" upon hearing that he had won the Rhodes.

"I felt that I did really poorly at my first interview," he said, adding that he believed he made up for it in the second interview.

Wu, who was active in the Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations, also worked as a tutor and participated with Phillips Brooks House (PBH) programs. He is a joint concentrator in social studies and East Asian studies.

He described the quality that he said he believed helped him win the scholarship.

"For me, at least, it was just having passion about what you want to be doing and articulating that well in an interview," Wu said.

Aiyar, the president of the Harvard Advocate, shared Wu's surprise. She said she was "obviously very shocked and happy."

"I was dazed by the grueling week-long interview process," the social studies concentrator said.

Aiyar, who also worked with PBH, said she plans to get a Master's in politics at Oxford.

The winners said their success was mostly a result of loving what they do.

"I really think anyone can win it," Atwan said. "It's the most passionate, well rounded people who end up getting chosen in the end. It's not a genius prize. It's a well-rounded prize."

Ariel R. Frank contributed to the reporting of this story.

He expressed surprise at being selected despite the fact that he was not present for an important cocktail reception before his interview.

"Usually that would eliminate you from the running," he said.

"Chicago's airport was snowed in. Myself and one other Harvard student were the only ones who missed the reception. We called the committee and they said to take the earliest flight," he said.

"We took a 6 a.m. flight the next morning," he said. "Even on two hours of sleep we had pretty good interviews, I think."

The Chair of the Fellows Committee at the IOP, Atwan was the treasurer and a founding member of the Harvard-Radcliffe Republican Alliance.

An economics concentrator, he hopes to study modern Middle Eastern studies and economics at Oxford, focusing on the economic and political implications of the peace agreements in the Middle East.

Another of the scholars said he was relieved that the week of interviews was over. "I feel great. It was a long week and I'm glad that it ended this way," Toloui said.

An economics concentrator, Toloui refuted the notion that Rhodes scholars share any special characteristic.

"I think that you don't do anything special," he said. "Just study hard in school, take your vitamins every morning. I think really at the end it's just focusing in the interview."

Among the questions the scholarship committee asked Toloui during his three interviews, he said, the most memorable were "What's the difference between knowledge and belief?" and "What should the U.S. do about human rights violations in China?"

Toloui said the committee also asked about his favorite piece of art-work (Picasso's "Guernica") and his favorite ancient Persian king (Xerxes, because of his "clever politics during the Peloponnesian War").

In addition to serving as the editor-in-chief of the Harvard International Review, Toloui was the community outreach director of the Small Claims Advisory Service and a member of the board of the Harvard International Relations Council.

"I would like to become involved in academia, to be involved in foreign policy-related academic research," he said.

One winner professed to having mixed emotions. Wu said he experienced "shock and an unreal kind of feeling" upon hearing that he had won the Rhodes.

"I felt that I did really poorly at my first interview," he said, adding that he believed he made up for it in the second interview.

Wu, who was active in the Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations, also worked as a tutor and participated with Phillips Brooks House (PBH) programs. He is a joint concentrator in social studies and East Asian studies.

He described the quality that he said he believed helped him win the scholarship.

"For me, at least, it was just having passion about what you want to be doing and articulating that well in an interview," Wu said.

Aiyar, the president of the Harvard Advocate, shared Wu's surprise. She said she was "obviously very shocked and happy."

"I was dazed by the grueling week-long interview process," the social studies concentrator said.

Aiyar, who also worked with PBH, said she plans to get a Master's in politics at Oxford.

The winners said their success was mostly a result of loving what they do.

"I really think anyone can win it," Atwan said. "It's the most passionate, well rounded people who end up getting chosen in the end. It's not a genius prize. It's a well-rounded prize."

Ariel R. Frank contributed to the reporting of this story.