Two Harvard Students Win Canadian Rhodes

Two more Harvard students have been named Rhodes Scholars, bringing the College's total Rhodes count to seven.

Demetra C. Koutsoukos '97 and Thomas Wei '97 were among the 11 winners of the Canadian Rhodes, the committee announced yesterday.

The students received the news via telephone over the weekend.

"[I was] elated, very excited and shocked," said Koutsoukos.

Koutsoukos, a social studies concentrator from Eliot House, said she originally planned to go directly to medical school after College.

Instead, she will receive a full scholarship to spend the next two years getting her master's degree in public health at Oxford.

Wei, a biochemistry concentrator from Pforzheimer house, plans to use his scholarship to pursue a master's degree in economics.

Besides having stellar academic records, both students were involved in numerous extracurricular activities.

Wei participated in Harvard Model U.N., Mozart Society Orchestra and the Committee on Deaf Awareness.

Koutsoukos rowed for the varsity crew and was active in the Radcliffe mentorship program and the Crimson Key Society.

A former roommate of Wei's recalled that the new Rhodes Scholar was always an organized student who nevertheless made a point of putting people first.

"Thomas Wei is a hard- working and focused individual who always manages his time well enough," said Edward A. Villavicencio '97.

Both Kousoukos and Wei said they decided to spend the next two years studying at at Oxford because not only do they consider this a once in a lifetime opportunity, but they also believe that the programs in which they will be pursuing their respective degrees in are top-notch.

"I think that Oxford would be an amazing place to study and specifically, they have a really good public health program," said Koutsoukos.

The Canadian Rhodes Scholarship is identical to the American version in every aspect except for the number of people selected and the need to be a citizen of Canada before being considered.

But Wei said his interviews were much less stressful than they are for those seeking an American Rhodes Scholarship.

"The interviews were very relaxed, it's a completely different process from the American Rhodes," he said

The Canadian Rhodes Scholarship is identical to the American version in every aspect except for the number of people selected and the need to be a citizen of Canada before being considered.

But Wei said his interviews were much less stressful than they are for those seeking an American Rhodes Scholarship.

"The interviews were very relaxed, it's a completely different process from the American Rhodes," he said