In 2005, Matthew Chan, then an economics major, joined a long line of UBC alumni to have received the honour, which included a $100,000 scholarship and a two-year invitation to study at Oxford University in England.
What’s it like to win one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious scholarships?
In 2005, UBC Economics student Matthew Chan found the answer to that question. As the Rhodes Scholar for British Columbia that year, Chan joined a long line of UBC alumni to have received the honour, which includes a $100,000 scholarship and a two-year invitation to study at Oxford University in England.
Chan, who recently wrapped up an economics undergraduate degree at UBC, is using his Rhodes scholarship to pursue two Master’s degrees at Oxford — the first in global health science and the second in economics for international development.
A native of Vernon, BC, Chan says he intends to work with developing countries to improve health measures. Despite his age, he has already garnered international field experience through summer volunteer work.
In 2005, Chan spent six weeks working with an AIDS outreach program for a Ugandan charity organization. The summer before, he volunteered with the BC-based Hope International Development Agency to build a school in a small rural community in the Dominican Republic.
Chan says his desire to help others was first sparked during a trip he made to China as a 12-year-old. He and his parents were visiting Ningxia, a province in northwest China, where he encountered sick children, many of whom had bellies swollen from hunger and malnutrition.
“What I saw there really affected me,” Chan says. “It shaped my attitude and opened my eyes to the rest of the world.”
Along with his academic and community endeavours, Chan enjoys running and playing intramural basketball.
Prior to studying at UBC, Chan attended San Diego State University, where he received the rowing team’s most valuable rower award and a Scholar-Athlete award. Both at high school and during his first year at Okanagan University College, Chan played on the men’s basketball team.
“UBC is extremely proud to have one of our students named to this distinguished scholarship,” said Brian Sullivan, UBC vice-president of students. “Matthew has achieved not only outstanding academic excellence, he has already demonstrated remarkable commitment to global citizenship.”
The Rhodes Scholarships, established in 1902, were designed to bring outstanding students from across the world to study at Oxford University, in the interests of promoting international understanding and public service.
Since UBC’s inauguration, 64 students from the UBC have won the scholarship — nearly two-thirds have come from the Faculty of Arts. The scholarship requires a high level of literacy and scholastic achievement, strong qualities of leadership and character, and evidence of public service.
Previous to Chan, UBC physics undergraduate Michael Rivers-Bowerman won the scholarship in 2004. He went on to pursue two years of undergraduate studies in politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford, with the intent to further his interest in medical physics and the technology involved in detecting, diagnosing, and treating cancer patients.
Past scholars include former Canadian Prime Minister John Turner, a UBC Arts alumni who majored in Political Science. John Turner will be recognized fall 2007 with the Alumni Award of Distinction.
