Alumni - Rhodes Scholars

Several Teach For America alumni have been awarded the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. The oldest international educational fellowships, Rhodes Scholarships bring outstanding students from around the world – including 32 from the United States – to the University of Oxford. All educational costs are covered by the Rhodes Trustees.

While extraordinary intellectual distinction is factored into the selection process, Rhodes Scholars are also selected for their leadership instincts and devotion to duty – characteristics reflective of Teach For America corps members. Meet some Teach For America alumni who went on to receive Rhodes Scholarships.

Rachel Mazyck

Julie Mikuta

Genevieve Quist

Jeremy Robinson

Scott Thompson

Rachel Mazyck Mississippi Delta Corps '02 Taught 4th grade University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, English

Upon graduating from UNC, Rachel joined Teach For America and moved to the Mississippi Delta. Her experiences in the classroom compelled her to pursue a master's in education policy and management from Harvard's Graduate School of Education. At that time, she also applied for the Rhodes Scholarship, with an interest in seeing how the United Kingdom was addressing its own achievement gap.

Rachel is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in education at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Her research examines how school choice policies work in practice for the African Caribbean population in Birmingham - England's largest school district.

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Julie Mikuta Greater New Orleans Corps '91 Taught high school science Georgetown University, biology

Julie is currently a Partner in NewSchools Venture Fund's West Coast office.

Julie began her career in education as a Teach For America corps member. After her time in the corps, Julie helped to find Washington D.C.'s SEED Public Charter School, interned at the White House Domestic Policy Council, and served on the D.C. Public Charter School Board's application review and monitoring teams.

Prior to joining NewSchools, Julie was Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at EdBuild. Additionally, Julie served as an elected member of the D.C. Board of Education from '01 until '04. During her time on the School Board, Julie worked as Vice President of Alumni Affairs for Teach For America, where she developed programming for the organization's alumni.

Julie completed her doctorate in international education at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

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Genevieve Quist Los Angeles Corps '05 Taught 6th grade English and Social Studies Cornell University, industrial and labor relations with a concentration in inequality studies

Genevieve joined the corps after graduating from Cornell and taught 6th grade English and Social Studies at Charles Drew Middle School in Los Angeles. Her experience working in the community motivated her to learn more about policy issues surrounding education and affordable housing.

After being awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, she began a one year master's degree in comparative social policy at Oxford. Genevieve received her degree in ‘08 and is now pursuing a Ph.D in social policy. Her doctoral dissertation is focused on child welfare in urban public housing and the impact of policy designed to de-concentrate poverty.

 

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Jeremy Robinson Chicago Corps '04 Taught 9th grade English Wabash College, English and Spanish

Jeremy grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. In the corps he taught at Harper High School in the Englewood neighborhood on Chicago's south side.

After leaving Harper in '06, he enrolled at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar where he pursued a master's degree in English language and literature. Jeremy is currently teaching 11th and 12th grade English at Rauner College Prep, which is based in Chicago.

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Scott Thompson New York Corps '06 First year - Taught 7th grade social studies; Second year - Taught 11th grade United States history Stanford University, political science and psychology

Scott taught at the Theatre Arts Production Company, a small middle/high school in the South Bronx. Scott was the teacher advisor for the school's Gay-Straight Alliance as well as the College Prep club. He began a Junior Statesmen chapter at the school which traveled to Washington, D.C. for a national competition. He also coached the middle school boy's softball team, which won the ‘07 league championship.

Scott is currently pursuing his master's of philosophy in evidence-based social intervention as a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford in the Department of Social Policy and Social Work.

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