Bellaire grad joins group of Rhodes scholars
Houston native Liana Wang believes she has been fortunate to experience great advantages in her life: a top-flight education at Bellaire High School, support from counselors dedicated to first-generation college students, tutelage from Yale University’s nationally respected professors.
Now, Wang wants to better understand how to provide more Americans with those kinds of chances, by combining her love of economics and devotion to social justice.
“Every single stage, I’ve gotten an opportunity,” Wang said. “I’ve been kind of sad in a sense that most people don’t get an opportunity like this.”
Wang will ponder life’s inequities in the coming years at Oxford University after being named a Rhodes scholar last weekend, one of the world’s most prestigious academic hon
ors. The scholarship goes to 32 high-achieving undergraduates each year who display an aptitude and ambition for tackling the world’s greatest societal challenges.
Wang becomes the third Houstonian to receive the honor in the past seven years, joining Bellaire alumnus Anand Habib (2012) and St. John’s School graduate Harold Xavier Gonzalez (2017).
The 21-year-old learned she and Lauren Spohn, a College Station native now at Harvard, received the Rhodes scholar recognition following interviews Saturday in Houston. A panel there questioned
14 candidates from Texas and Oklahoma.
“I didn’t think either (interview) went amazingly, but about 20 minutes after my second interview, they came out and said they’d chosen me,” Wang said. “It felt a little crazy because I really didn’t expect it. I really hadn’t had any expectations going in.”
For Wang, the first in her family to attend college, it’s yet another award in a remarkable high school and college career. She graduated second in her class at Bellaire, with a 4.96 GPA and perfect scores on the ACT and the SAT math and SAT reading exams.
At Yale, Wang majors in economics and conducts research centered on policies aimed at closing inequalities, such as tax and welfare reform. She also helps lead the university’s human rights law clinic and volunteers to prepare tax returns for lower-income residents of New Haven, Conn., the home of Yale.
Wang credited her parents, who moved from China to the U.S., for providing her with an exceptional education and support.
“My parents worked incredibly hard and they’ve given up a lot in order to make sure I have access to resources and opportunities,” Wang said. “My mom managed to always get us into some kind of neighborhood with a decent school.”
Wang becomes the first graduate of HISD’s EMERGE initiative to be named a Rhodes scholar. The program, which started in 2010, provides extensive counseling and college-centric opportunities to hundreds of highachieving students from lowerincome backgrounds.
“She’s that reminder that anything is possible,” said Lisle Bull, an EMERGE senior manager. “We know our kids have the skills and are able to achieve anything, but when you see it manifested, it’s powerful.”
Bellaire Principal Michael McDonough said Wang showed an interest in political and social causes at a young age, displaying an uncommon sophistication for a high school student.
“We have some kids just driven by the grade, wanting to get the highest GPA possible, and that wasn’t her,” said McDonough, who worked with Wang during her junior and senior years. “I was always just impressed that she had such a clear sense of what was important and powerful in her life.”
Wang plans to study comparative government at Oxford for two years, broadening her perspective on the various methods used to provide more opportunities to citizens from all backgrounds. She ultimately hopes to conduct research that can help guide public policy decisions, particularly around labor and economics.