Sarah Mackenzie (BA ’20) has been named Carolina’s 51st Rhodes Scholar.  Sarah graduated with highest distinction from UNC as a Morehead-Cain Scholar, earning a B.A. in Public Policy and Global Studies with a minor in Arabic.  Sarah spent the fall semester of her junior year studying Arabic in the CET Jordan language program — “definitely one of the most challenging things I’ve done,” she noted. While in Amman, Jordan, she also used the Discovery Fund to attend classes in Arabic at a women’s only self-defense and boxing studio.
While at UNC, Sarah worked with the Community Empowerment Fund, advocating for racial and financial justice in North Carolina, and UNC’s criminal justice advocacy group.  In addition to studying in Jordan, Sarah also interned and studied in South Africa and Washington, D.C. A Phi Beta Kappa inductee, Sarah wrote her senior thesis on bail in Alberta, for which she received highest honors.
Now in New York City, Sarah works for the Center for Appellate Litigation, a public defender’s office representing low-income individuals in their criminal appeals.  Sarah intends to pursue an MPhil in Evidence-Based Social Policy and Intervention, with the goal of developing a career in law and policy at the intersection of poverty and alleviation, migration, and criminal justice.
The Rhodes Scholarship, first awarded in 1902, is the oldest international scholarship program, enabling outstanding young people from around the world to study at the University of Oxford.  Rhodes Scholars “are people who have a visions of how the world could be better and the energy to make a difference–whatever their sphere of interest.”  Scholars are selected “on the basis not only of intellect, but also of character and commitment to service.
Read more at https://www.unc.edu/posts/2020/11/23/two-tar-heels-named-rhodes-scholars/.