Lexington Student Named Rhodes Scholar in Class of 2017

LEXINGTON, MA — A Lexington-based student was one of the 32 students announced in the 2017 class of Rhodes Scholars, who have earned a trip to study at the University of Oxford. Joshua Pickar, 22, of Lexington, who graduated from the George Washington University and now attends the University of Chicago Law School was the only New England representative selected in the class.

According to the Rhodes Trust, Pickar plans to read for the master's degree in global governance and diplomacy, followed by the master's degree in comparative social policy. He speaks Russian, French and Spanish, is learning German, Italian and Arabic

Pickar graduated from the George Washington University, summa cum laude, with a double major in International Affairs and security policy in just two years. He also has studied in Japan and worked in the office of then-Senator John Kerry.

Among his most noted achievements, Pickar successfully advocated for an LGBT Iraqi refugee's relocation to the United States after the refugee had been beaten by his family and exiled. Pickar also assisted the efforts of a deaf and mute Honduran who had been tormented for his disabilities to gain American citizenship.

The Rhodes Scholarship is valued at as much as $250,000 per year. 3,420 Americans have won Rhodes scholarships.

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