Sandy Springs Native Named Rhodes Scholar

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Emory University student Leah Michalove is one of 32 American college students selected as a 2016 Rhodes Scholar.

Michalove, a Sandy Springs native, is the 19th student from Emory to be selected for the prestigious scholarship, which provides for two or three years of study at Oxford University in England, Emory University said.

“I’m so excited and grateful,” Michalove said. “I wouldn’t have gotten here without the support of friends, family and Emory. It’s going to give me an amazing opportunity to study at Oxford and build relationships with outstanding students from U.S. and around the world.”

Michalove is a senior in the university’s Emory College of Arts and Sciences where she is a dean’s achievement scholar majoring in Middle Eastern and South Asian studies, with a minor in anthropology. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa honor society and a recipient of the Amy Johnson Study Abroad Award.

“Leah Michalove is the kind of student who not only seizes every opportunity for learning but also leads in every endeavor that engages her energy and talents,” Emory President Jim Wagner added. “So in that sense she represents the finest Emory students and will make a splendid ambassador for the United States and for Emory at Oxford University. We are thrilled at her success.”

Michalove is also involved in Emory’s theater community, and has served as artistic director, production manager and stage manager for Dooley’s Players. She currently serves as treasurer and outgoing president of Emory J Street U, and an active member of the Emory Scholars Program.

In addition to her involvement with theater, Michalove serves as an Arabic language tutor with EPASS tutoring, organizes the monthly Arabic Round Table, volunteered as a classroom assistant in a Peruvian preschool and has worked as a Hebrew tutor.

Michalove has focused her undergraduate research on the Middle East with an emphasis on women. Once she completes the master’s in philosophy in social anthropology program at Oxford, Michalove intends to pursue a doctorate in anthropology, focusing on the Middle East.

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Photo credit: Emory University