Rhodes scholars 2023 include five New Haven students, a Greenwich native
NEW HAVEN — Among 32 Rhodes scholars traveling to University of Oxford in England next year for a degree include a Greenwich native and five Yale University students, the organization has announced.
According to profiles of the candidates, the following six students are from Connecticut or currently studying in Connecticut.
Margaret Williams, a Greenwich native, is a senior economics major at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Williams has interned with the National Security Council at the White House and is currently a research assistant at the Irregular Warfare Institute. At West Point, she is vice president of West Point’s Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. In spring 2022, West Point selected her as a Presidential Fellow with the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress. She researches how digital currency and emerging financial technology disrupt financial systems and threatens national security. She plans to commission as an engineer officer and wants to return to the NSC.
Beside her academic achievement, Williams is a four-year varsity lacrosse player who represented the U.S. at the Youth World Cup when she was 12, plays attack for the Army’s Division I Women’s Lacrosse Team and serves as the Regimental Varsity Athletics officer. At Oxford, Williams will read for a Master of Science in Economics for Development and a Master of Science in Global Governance and Diplomacy.
“I am honored to represent the Army and the United States at Oxford,” she said. “This is an unparalleled opportunity to continue studying the principles of economic development as I prepare to lead in some of the world’s most underserved communities.”
Sophie Huttner of Florida, James Mullins of Pennsylvania, Henry Large of Washington D.C., Veer Sangha of Missouri and Ulystean Oates of Tennessee are current seniors at Yale.
Huttner, a global affairs major, said she’s grateful and excited for the paths ahead.
“I am excited to live abroad, to meet amazing people, and to study with remarkable scholars from around the world,” she said.
Huttner has been active within New Haven’s community service and political advocacy with a focus on Latin America, including issues of gender, violence and forced migration.
Most recently, she’s a president of Yale Interpretation Network, which provides services for those with language barriers. At Oxford, Huttner plans to get a degree in refugee and forced migration.
“I ultimately hope to use my studies to become a policy maker and advocate for refugees and asylum seekers, and to help close gaps in our current laws to ensure that the most vulnerable migrants receive the protection they need,” she said in an email.
Mullins majors in ethics, politics and economics and plans to study criminology and criminal justice in England. He said he’s still in disbelief and doesn’t think the fact that he received the scholarship will set in for a while.
With a passion for criminal justice reform, Mullins has been a scholar at the Institute for Responsible Citizenship, having interned with the public defender and the Center for Law and Social Policy. For him, there’s no better time to pursue the scholarship.
“I want to eventually go to law school and practice as an attorney, but I don’t feel that I have the critical frameworks necessary to make the most out of law school,” he said. “At its core, law school is a vocational experience, and I want to spend some time thinking more broadly about criminal justice policy before I dive in headfirst.”
During his time in New Haven, Mullins was coordinator of mentors for public school teachers and is heading Yale Black Men’s Union.
Large, a double major in history and Spanish, plans to join the Marine Corps after he gets a degree in Latin American Studies from Oxford, since much of his academic and volunteer work revolves around Latin American migration. The aspiring officer has worked with at-risk youth in Guatemala, as well as the public defender in San Diego.
“I feel shocked and elated,” he said. “But more than anything I feel so grateful to everyone who helped me during the process and made this possible.”