She just keeps raising the bar!
A DC native who was previously accepted to all eight Ivy League schools is now a 2022 Rhodes Scholar, WUSA 9 reports.
Samantha “Sam” O’Sullivan’s name first started ringing bells when she was accepted to all eight Ivy League schools in 2018. A DC native, O’Sullivan attended School Without Walls, maintaining a 4.34 GPA while there and serving as class president for three years. Upon graduation, the teen made the decision to attend Harvard University where she’s currently dual majoring in Physics and African-American Studies with the goal of earning Master’s degrees in the philosophy of physics and applied linguistics in the future.
Now, O’Sullivan has been chosen as one of 32 Americans to win the prestigious 2022 Rhodes Scholarship to study at the University of Oxford. The scholarship is one of the oldest and most esteemed programs, the first award being given in 1902. The program supports exceptional scholars from around the globe, providing an all expense paid opportunity to study at the number one ranked college in the world, the University of Oxford, for a two or three year period. This year’s class includes 22 women recipients, the most women awarded of any class of scholars since its inception more than a century ago.
“This year’s Rhodes Scholars representing the United States - elected by 16 committees around the country meeting simultaneously - will go to England next October to study in fields across the full breadth of the University of Oxford. They are inspiring young leaders already, and we are confident that their contributions to public welfare nationally and globally will expand exponentially over the course of their careers in varied sectors and disciplines,” said Elliott Gerson, American Secretary for the Rhodes Trust.
O’Sullivan now becomes one of the 3,578 Americans who have been the recipients of Rhodes Scholarships. It wasn’t until more than seven decades after its creation that women were allowed to apply for the scholarship, beginning in 1976. Since then, 627 women have received Rhodes Scholarships. Former famous Rhodes scholars include former president Bill Clinton, journalist Bill Bradley, astronomer Edwin Hubble and political commentator Rachel Maddow.
Congratulations Sam! We know you’re going to do some amazing things!
Photo Courtesy of @SamanthaOSull/Twitter