Boston, Nov 21: A student who was shot four times while promoting democracy in Iraq and a senior who is writing her thesis on vampires and blood contagion in 19th-century
literature were among the 32 Americans selected as Rhodes scholars for 2006. The selected includes three American Indians Rahul Satija, Shamsher Gill and Lakshmi Krishnan.
The scholars, chosen from 903 applicants, will enter Oxford University in England next October. The scholarships fund two or three years of study. About 85 scholars from at
least 14 nations are selected each year.
Rahul Satija, a Duke University senior who studies the smallpox virus while also teaching violin to inner-city children.
Samsher Gill, 22, graduated from the University of Chicago this year. Gill, of Edina, Minnesota, works at media matters in Washington, DC, where his research job involves
fact-checking Fox News' 'The O'reilly Factor.' Gill said he feels a sense of responsibility as a Rhodes scholar.
"It's an award for prior accomplishments, but it's really a beginning...Thinking about what it will mean to create a better world, that's part of what being at Oxford is about."
Lakshmi Krishnan, of sugar land, Texas, attends wake Forest University and is writing her senior thesis on vampires and blood contagion in 19th-century literature. She
plans to major in English at Oxford.
Her career goals don't involve vampires: "I would love to work as a physician studying medical issues in the developing world,'' she said in a statement.
Bureau Report
