ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Senior Abigail (AJ) Ward of the Navy women's rugby team was one of 32 students nationwide awarded a Rhodes Scholarship for postgraduate study at Oxford University this past weekend. She is the 56th midshipman to earn the prestigious honor.  
 
A computer science major with a Chinese minor, Ward owns a 3.99 cumulative grade-point average and is ranked 28th in Academic Order of Merit amongst the Naval Academy Class of 2024. Additionally, she has garnered academic honors from the Naval Academy in five semesters.
 
More than 2,500 students applied for the scholarship and 862 were ultimately endorsed by 249 different colleges and universities. Committees of selection in each of the 16 U.S. districts then invited the strongest applicants to appear before them for interviews to determine the recipients of the scholarship.
 
The Rhodes Scholarship was first awarded in 1902 and is the oldest graduate scholarship program. It enables young people from around the world an opportunity to attend postgraduate school at the University of Oxford in England for up to three years. The scholarships are for young leaders of outstanding intellect and character who are motivated to engage with global challenges and are committed to the service of others. They show promise of becoming value-driven, principled leaders for the world's future, wherever their careers might take them and in any field.
 
The Pasadena, Md., native was also a recipient of the Stamps Scholarship that allowed her to work with the Asia Foundation Malaysia this past summer to study the impact of technology policy on small and micro entrepreneurs. She also spent the 2023 spring semester in an intensive Mandarin program in Taipei, Taiwan, at National Taiwan University.
 
Ward plans to pursue a master's degree in social science of the internet as well as a master's degree in public policy.
 
Additional information on the Rhodes Scholarship can be found HERE.