SINGAPORE - Yale-NUS College graduate Nicholas Carverhill has been named a Rhodes Scholar and will start his Oxford fellowship next year, the college said on Tuesday (Nov 21).
The Rhodes Scholarship is a prestigious postgraduate award given to exceptional students from around the world to study at Oxford University, with the aim of nurturing public-spirited leaders.
The 22-year-old, who studied urban studies and global affairs at Yale-NUS, graduated earlier this year.
He has worked with Rohingya Muslims in Bangkok, spent a summer supporting the recruitment of teachers for northern indigenous communities in Canada and volunteered with injured migrant workers in Singapore.
At Yale-NUS, Mr Carverhill, who is from Saskatoon, Canada, managed an online undergraduate publication on global affairs, and was the founding president of the college's debate society, which allowed him to spend considerable time working with debate initiatives in about a dozen countries.
On receiving the scholarship, Mr Carverhill said he is "immensely grateful" for the opportunity to further his studies.
"I am proud to represent Yale-NUS, and the many other communities that have made it possible to receive this scholarship - it is the investment that others have made in me that truly made it possible," he added.
Mr Carverhill, who intends to pursue a master of philosophy degree in development studies at Oxford, said: "After my fieldwork experiences from courses taken at Yale-NUS, I feel called to work with vulnerable communities on issues related to urban politics."
Every year, 95 outstanding young women and men are awarded the scholarship. Famous Rhodes Scholars include former United States president Bill Clinton and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Dr Trisha Craig, Yale-NUS' dean of international and professional experience, said Mr Carverhill's work crosses disciplinary boundaries and his commitment to the most marginalised populations spans borders.
"The Rhodes Scholarship will allow (Mr Carverhill) boundless opportunities to further his ability to effect change and we look forward to seeing his future achievements," she added.
