Summer 2012 - "Education Perspectives" - Concordia University

Through a collaboration of
Concordia Provost Mark Wahlers, the
Athletic Department, and the School
of Management, the University has
nominated four student-athletes
for the Rhodes Scholarship over
the last two academic years.
The Rhodes Scholarship
annually selects 83 well-rounded
students from around the world
to study at the world-renowned
Oxford University in Oxford,
England. The Rhodes Trust, who
selects the honorees each year, lists
“intellect, character, leadership,
and commitment to service” as its
guiding principles.
With those principles in mind, the
University began its push during the
2010-11 school year with then-senior,
Danielle Clauson, as the school’s first
nomination. After Clauson graduated,
Mike Dickman, Jackie Hendrickson,
and Kayla Vickaryous became the
next set of nominees.
“When I heard they wanted
to nominate me for the Rhodes
Scholarship, I said ‘wait a second.
Is this the same thing I think it is?’”
said Dickman. “Then, once I found it
was the actual Rhodes Scholarship in
Oxford, I quickly said yes.”
Hendrickson had a similar
reaction to the nomination, but also
found honor in standing next to her
fellow nominees.
“Knowing the type of student, the
type of athlete, and the type of person
Dani [Clauson] was, I was honored to
follow her,” said Hendrickson. “Then
to be nominated next to Mike and
Kayla really meant a lot.”
The initial honor aside, though,
both the school and the batch
of nominees had minimal to no
experience in the Rhodes application
process. In the end, that would mean
a great deal of work for both the
students and the faculty involved with
not a lot of time to do it.
The University first contacted
Dickman, Hendrickson, and
Vickaryous at the end of August with
the deadline for the application set on
October 5. In that time, the students
had to gather eight recommendations,
four of which had to be professors at
Concordia, and write a 1,000 word
personal statement.
“The whole application process felt
like another class on top of everything
else,” said Hendrickson, who was
also competing for the Concordia
women’s soccer team throughout the
application process.
Both Dickman and Hendrickson
agreed that the essay proved the
lengthiest part of the process.
“Each of us did maybe six to
ten revisions of our essays,” said
Dickman. “We had people outside of
the school looking at them and then
we’d meet every week or two with a
committee of professors and deans to
go over them again.”
Unfortunately, none of the four
nominees received the Rhodes
Scholarship, but everybody involved
at Concordia remains committed to
Navy & White
Concordia University has set its sights on the
prestigious Rhodes Scholarship.
pursuing the Rhodes for deserving
candidates in the future.
“We absolutely have deserving
students,” said Associate Athletic
Director, Pat Sweeney, who sent out
“We absolutely have deserving students...
The challenge with the Rhodes Scholarship is
that only 32 students in the entire United States
receive one of the scholarships each year.”
» Pat Sweeney, Associate Athletic Director
the initial emails to the nominees.
“The challenge with the Rhodes
Scholarship is that only 32 students in
the entire United States receive one of
the scholarships each year.”
“However, the Rhodes Trust
frequently awards a scholarship to a
student from a school that has never
had a Rhodes Scholar before, so we
hope that eventually that will be us.”
In addition, having gone through
the process with four different
students now, the University knows a
lot more about what the Rhodes Trust
prioritizes in a candidate as well as the
process itself.
“This is an application process you
have to get way out in front of,” said
Sweeney. “Right now we’re working to
try and begin the process for worthy
candidates earlier so they’ll have more
time to prepare their applications.”
Consequently, when someone at
the school eventually does receive
the Rhodes Scholarship, they’ll have
Clauson, Dickman, Hendrickson, and
Vickaryous to thank for paving the
way for them. �
Summer 2012
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