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AROUND THE QUADSFour Student Scholars HonoredFour 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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