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AROUND THE QUADS
Four Student Scholars Honored
Four College students have won prestigious academic awards. Cyrus
Habib ’03 and Jonah Lehrer ’03 have been selected as
Rhodes Scholars, Robbie Majzner ’03 won a Mitchell Scholarship
and Joshua Laurito ’04 has been named a recipient of a Global
Scholar Award from the Circumnavigator Foundation.
Habib is an English major concentrating in computer science and
Middle Eastern and Asian languages and cultures. Fluent in several
languages, he will study comparative modern literature at Oxford.
Habib, who is from Bellevue, Wash., was a Truman winner last year
(see CCT, May 2002),
and plans to be an academic and an advocate for technology, for
the disabled. A pianist, skier and black belt in karate who also
is a published photographer, Habib uses his computer skills to foster
new opportunities for disabled users. He also works as an advocate
for students with disabilities on campus and in the community. “He’s
willing to try all sorts of new things, a real risk-taker. That
will serve him well at Oxford,” said Lee Goldberg ’03,
who twice ran against Habib in class elections.
Lehrer is a neuroscience major from Los Angeles who will study
philosophy and physiology at Oxford. He plans to be a science writer.
His lifelong interest in science and books led him to Columbia and
the Kandel Lab, where he is examining the biological process of
memory and what happens in the brain on a molecular level when a
person remembers or forgets information. Lehrer asserts that science
asks questions so big it must incorporate other dimensions, such
as psychology.
“Science is too often perceived as cold,” he says.
“I want to translate science and show how beautiful it can
be.” In addition to his work in the lab, Lehrer is a member
of Columbia Advocacy, where he volunteers at local church soup kitchens
and on other projects to help the homeless. He was the editor of
the Columbia Review for two years and enjoys writing poetry.
Habib and Lehrer are among the 32 college students in the United
States selected as Rhodes Scholars. Initiated after the death of
Cecil Rhodes in 1902, the Rhodes is the oldest international study
award for Americans. The grant covers tuition, fees and maintenance
costs for two to three years of graduate studies at Oxford. In the
past five years, four Columbia students have received Rhodes fellowships.
Majzner is a computer science major and a pre-med who will study
public health at the University of Galway, Ireland. A New Jersey
native, Majzner also is a Rabi Scholar and received the Goldwater
Fellowship during his sophomore year and the Truman Fellowship during
his junior year. He plans to pursue a career practicing clinical
medicine and working on international HIV policy.
Majzner is one of 12 George J. Mitchell Scholarship winners from
the United States. The scholarships allow students to pursue one
year of post-graduate study. The scholarship was established in
1998 with the goal of broadening American students’ interest
in Ireland. Scholars receive tuition, room, a stipend of $11,000
and travel to and from Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Laurito, a chemistry major with a concentration in mathematics,
plans to use his award to study the policy, uses and influence of
nanotechnologies in sustainable development in Tunisia, South Africa,
Australia, Japan and Switzerland.
The Circumnavigators Club Foundation funds travel/study grants
for around-the-world study projects for college students for 10
weeks during the summer between their junior and senior years. The
grant of $8,500 covers expenses of a travel study project of international
importance spanning 10 weeks and at least five countries.
L.P.
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Further
Information |
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