Joshua Carpenter, a 2010 graduate of the UAB Collat School of Business, is a 2012 Rhodes Scholarship finalist. He is the fifth UAB student to be a Rhodes finalist since 2006.
Carpenter graduated from UAB with a double major in economics and accounting. In 2009, he was selected as a Truman finalist. He is in the first class of Alabamians to join the Teach for America program, which sends future leaders to teach in low-income communities. Carpenter also spent this past summer in the White House Internship Program with the Office of Presidential Correspondence.
“Going to Oxford where they are studying the issues of poverty and education levels with students and experts from all over the world would surround me with the best network of people to figure out exactly what it is that I can be doing now — and with my career — to make a difference,” said Carpenter. “I can’t think of a better place to do that than Oxford amid the backdrop of Oxford Hubs, where great conversations and ideas are fostered. That is a dream for me.”
The Rhodes Scholarships are the oldest international educational fellowships. Only 32 recipients are chosen each year from the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Winners will be announced Nov. 19. If Carpenter is selected, he will enroll in a Masters of Philosophy and will focus on comparative social policy.