Two alumni named Rhodes finalists

Damari Croswell speaks during Convocation on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2014. Photo by James Byard / WUSTL Photos
Croswell delivered the student address at Convocation in 2014. (Photo: James Byard/Washington University)

Two Washington University in St. Louis graduates were finalists for a Rhodes Scholarship,  one of the world’s most prestigious academic awards.

Damari Croswell, who graduated in 2015 with a degree in biology from Arts & Sciences, and Yidan Qin,  who graduated in 2016 with a degree in biomedical engineering from the School of Engineering & Applied Science, both are committed to improving human health. Croswell, a second-year medical student at Harvard Medical School, wants to effect policy change to empower patients in poverty. Qin, a research assistant at Washington University School of Medicine, plans to tackle pressing health issues through biostatistics research.

Qin
Qin

Croswell applied as an American scholar. Rhodes Trust selected 32 American scholars from a field of 882 applicants on Nov. 19. Qin applied as a Chinese scholar. The Rhodes Trust launched Rhodes Scholarships for China in 2015. 

Both students made an impact at Washington University. Croswell was a John B. Ervin Scholar, a residential advisor, an undergraduate teaching assistant in biology and chemistry and was selected to speak at the 2014 Convocation. Qin served as a teaching assistant, laboratory instructor and tutor for multiple subjects.

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