FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 3, 1999 CONTACT: Lisa Lacher, (515) 271-3119 DRAKE STUDENT ADVANCES TO FINAL ROUND OF COMPETITION FOR RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS Samuel Brooke, a senior at Drake University and a resident of rural Crosby, N.D, has been selected to represent North Dakota in the competition for Rhodes Scholarships. He was selected for this honor from a group of five candidates in his home state. Brooke will travel to St. Paul, Minn., today to attend a reception at Macalester College for the 12 students competing for Rhodes Scholarships at the district level in District 6, which encompasses Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Following interviews with the District Committee of Selection on Saturday, Dec. 4, up to four of the 12 students will be named Rhodes Scholars. The Rhodes Scholarships were established by Cecil Rhodes in 1903 to bring able students from throughout the English-speaking world and beyond to study at Oxford University. Each year, 32 U.S. citizens are among more than 90 Rhodes Scholars worldwide who take up degree courses at Oxford University."It was really exciting to be selected as the candidate from North Dakota," Brooke said. "I'm glad to be representing my home state and Drake University at the next level. "It's a great honor to get to the level that I'm at right now," he added. "Receiving a Rhodes Scholarship would be wonderful, but I'm going to try to enjoy the process. Lots of talented individuals will be competing at the district level and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to interact with them." Julian Archer, professor of history and director of post-graduate fellowships at Drake, has worked closely with Brooke to fine-tune his application and prepare for interviews with the selection committees. "To say that I'm delighted by Sam's selection as the North Dakota delegate is to put it mildly and really understate the case," he said. "He clearly is very worthy of this distinction in a very elite competition." Brooke grew up on farm near the Canadian border and came to Drake in 1996 as a National Alumni Scholar to study mathematics and computer science, but his honors courses brought ethical questions to the fore for him. He became interested in the plight of the less fortunate, especially in third-world countries. After traveling to a remote part of Mexico in 1997 as part of a Drake travel seminar, Brooke decided to major in both philosophy and rhetoric and communication studies. "Typically, such a shift means dropping one's original major, but in Sam's case, he retained his first two and added two more," professor Archer said. Despite having four majors and poor eyesight (he can see only slightly better than those who are legally blind), Brooke has maintained a 4.0 grade-point average in major areas of study and a 3.96 cumulative GPA. He also has been active in many campus organizations, serving as president of the Honors Student Council and the Drake University Student Alumni Association, a member of the Student Senate and chair of the Honors Curriculum. In addition, he has been a member of the Arts and Sciences Dean's Students Advisory Board, Drake's Alumni Board and Parents Board, the Drake Environmental Action League, Drake Community Chorus, Drake's chapter of Habitat for Humanity and Drake Newman Community Church. "Sam's leadership qualities have been exhibited in a variety of ways, all of them significant and immensely worthwhile, but carried out quietly and without fanfare," professor Archer said. "This fall, he organized a conference on social justice in Nicaragua, a country he visited last May. It was entirely his own doing, not a part of any course work. He did it because it was an issue he thought should be before the student body."