Two U of T students, Bryony Lau and Ashwini Vasanthakumar, have been awarded prestigious Rhodes Scholarships, which will pay for them to pursue their studies at Oxford University in England.
“I’m excited, primarily,” Lau told The Varsity, “but probably not as much as my parents. It definitely took a while for it to sink in.”
Born and raised in Calgary before moving to U of T, Lau is graduating this year with Specialists in international relations and history and a Minor in political science. Now she’s on her way to England, and excited about the prospects.
Lau says that she is going to be pursuing an M.Phil in international relations at Oxford.
“I was quite set on going to the UK for a master’s, so the scholarship helps me realize this most immediate academic goal,” she said. After being asked what career she plans to pursue with her Oxford degree, she said, “The long range plans are still coming into focus, but I imagine I will be doing yet more school after Oxford, possibly ending up as a professor.”
In addition to an excellent academic record, Lau has been actively involved in the U of T and greater Toronto community, as an editor of the student-run international affairs journal Attaché, and as a volunteer tutor for children in inner-city neighborhoods, among other things.
Ashwini Vasanthakumar is also mulling the possibility of more school after Oxford, although she added that she still wasn’t certain. Born in Sri Lanka, Vasanthakumar lived in Zambia and Papua New Guinea before her family came to Canada when she was 14 years old.
Vasanthakumar graduated at the top of her class at Harvard University last spring, and is now working on a master’s degree in political theory at U of T. Her academic interests focus on the study of citizenship and refugees.
Vasanthakumar developed an active interest in her studies on refugee and citizenship issues during her time as an undergrad. Two influences stand out for her: a summer research internship with a human rights group in New Delhi, and another summer in Sri Lanka examining the state of human rights and the peace process. In Toronto, she says that she has continued to study Sri Lanka and Canada’s role in the civil war-torn nation’s ongoing peace process.
Vasanthakumar said that she plans to continue studying political theory at Oxford and will focus on questions of citizenship, asylum, and international justice. She hopes to return to North America for her doctorate, and focus on human rights and immigration in the future, either through academia or practice (or ideally, she said, both).
Despite the fact that both women are clearly bright and accomplished individuals, both share a striking modesty about their achievements. Pressed to elaborate on her many academic accomplishments, Lau simply responded, “There’s nothing that really stands out,” she said. “Just a mixture of program- and college-specific awards.”
Vasanthakumar said that she was surprised about winning, especially after seeing the calibre of the other candidates. “I suppose I feel very lucky and humbled,” she said.
Competition for the prestigious scholarships is always fierce. Each year students are accepted from 18 jurisdictions around the globe-largely current or former members of the British Commonwealth-including Australia, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Malawi, the United States, and Singapore. Eleven scholarships are designated for Canada; U of T students have now collected eight Rhodes Scholarships in the last six years.
