Rachel Woodlee
a rhodes by any other name
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Many people know Rachel as Wofford’s sixth Rhodes Scholar. What some don’t know is that she almost didn’t apply for it. She had dreamed of the Rhodes since high school, but at the moment it was within her grasp, Rachel actually started to question whether the prestigious invitation to Oxford was reallythe right dream to begin with. She had just returned to the States after living with a Tibetan family for four months that had left her with a new perspective on life, a different take on ambition, and a new sense of who she wanted to become. Wofford had opened Rachel’s life up to a world of options, and different views of success. She has studied in France, China, Germany, Peru, India, and Belize, was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and captain of the school’s Division 1 volleyball team. She’s interned and apprenticed in law, business, marketing, and even dabbled in broadcasting. Would studying at Oxford help her evolve into the person she wanted to become or would it change her into something she once only thought she wanted to be? Wofford’s president (a Rhodes Scholar himself) and several members of the school’s faculty helped and encouraged Rachel throughout the entire process. In the end, the ability to study Modern Chinese and pursue a career educating Americans and businesses about Chinese culture proved to be a powerful attraction to Oxford. An attraction that, from all appearances, is mutual. Read more about Rachel »