Another Year, Another Rhodes Finalist

Last fall, Kristina Dill BA ’16 became the latest Lewis & Clark graduate to earn a spot as a finalist for the internationally renowned Rhodes Scholarship. The Rhodes is the oldest and one of the most distinguished honors of its kind, granting 32 outstanding American students the opportunity to study at the University of Oxford with full financial support. Although she ultimately did not receive the scholarship, it is a high honor to be named a finalist.

A chemistry major with a minor in math, Dill graduated summa cum laude as a Templeton and Neely scholar, balancing her lifelong passion for violin with advanced inorganic chemistry research under Professor Louis Kuo. She is interested in pursuing graduate work related to international health issues.

Much of Lewis & Clark’s success with the Rhodes Scholarship can be attributed to Associate Professor of English Karen Gross, who in recent years has recruited and mentored students like Dill in their pursuit of the Rhodes.

“Rhodes is looking for people who have an active spirit, they’re looking for people who will be enthusiastic participants in their world… and so for all of these reasons I think our students really are among the best,” explains Gross. “Our students are excited to make connections in this world, whether that’s through volunteer work or study abroad or athletics. There’s no one thing that makes a Pio here.”

Dill’s selection as a finalist follows last year’s announcement that two Lewis & Clark students, Angie Epifano BA ’16 and Katie Keith BA ’15, had earned spots as Rhodes finalists. Epifano is now a PhD student at the University of Chicago studying West African art history. Keith completed a year teaching as an English language assistant in Taiwan for her Fulbright Scholarship and is now a graduate research assistant at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

In the past 20 years, Lewis & Clark has produced two Rhodes scholars: Tamma Carleton BA ’09 and Laura Provinzino BA ’98. Carleton, who majored in economics, is now a PhD student at UC Berkeley. She recently published original research on the global impact of climate change (see page 32). Provinzino, who double majored in history and international affairs, went on to earn a JD from Yale Law School and now works as an assistant U.S. attorney in Minneapolis.