Monmouth County Resident Named As 2026 Rhodes Scholar

HOLMDEL, NJ — A Holmdel resident and student at Rutgers University has been named as a 2026 Rhodes Scholar, the university recently announced.

Omar M. Abuattieh, a doctoral student at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, is the first recipient from Rutgers to earn the honor since 1993 and the university’s ninth Rhodes Scholar overall.

He is the first to ever be selected from the School of Pharmacy, university officials said.

“It means a lot to me because much of what I’ve learned from my mother and my mentors is that this is not about me,” Abuattieh, a 23-year-old Palestinian American from Holmdel, said in the university announcement. “My name may be listed as a Rhodes Scholar, but this is really about the community and all the people who shaped me and whom I hope to give back to.”

Now in his final year of a six-year accelerated doctorate program in pharmacy, Abuattieh is completing a clinical rotation in the emergency department at University Hospital in Newark and is expected to graduate in May, officials said.

In the moment he learned that he had been selected as a Rhodes Scholar, Abuattieh said it felt “almost unreal,” though he is grateful to receive the honor.

“I know it comes with a responsibility to serve,” Abuattieh said. “There are people just as deserving who didn’t receive it, and that motivates me to make the most of this chance.”

The Rhodes Scholarship is a fully-funded postgraduate award that enables talented young people from around the world to study full-time at the University of Oxford, according to the Rhodes Scholarship website.

The scholarship is merit-based, with the purpose of developing public-spirited leaders and promoting international understanding and peace through the international community of Scholars.

For 2026, this year’s Rhode Scholars will travel to the University of Oxford in October, joining a cohort representing 22 institutions – three of which, including Rutgers, earned their first scholar in over 25 years.

“This well-deserved honor reflects Omar’s relentless spirit of intellectual curiosity, rigorous scholarship, and unwavering commitment to public service,” Rutgers University-New Brunswick Chancellor Francine Conway said in the university announcement.

“Omar represents the best of Rutgers, and our entire community is enormously proud of what he has accomplished,” Conway continued. “We are excited to see all that he will achieve in the future.”

Prior to being named as a 2026 Rhodes Scholar, Abuattieh was also named as Rutgers University’s 15th Truman Scholar in the spring. He was among 54 students from 49 colleges and universities across the U.S. selected for the honor.

Overseen by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, the Truman Scholarship is a national award given to the top students in the U.S. who are pursuing government or public service careers.

Those who are named as Truman Scholars not only receive up to $30,000 for graduate or professional school, but also participate in leadership development activities and have opportunities for internships and employment within the federal government, according to the Truman Foundation.

When he attends Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar in October, Abuattieh said he plans to pursue graduate studies that will equip him to analyze the effectiveness of social programs and develop data-driven policy solutions.

Back home in Holmdel, Abuattieh also has a history of giving back to the local community.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, he and his friends formed a community service by running errands for local residents (elderly and immunocompromised) free of charge. They would buy groceries and deliver them to residents’ doorsteps, then be reimbursed via cash or Venmo.

Abuattieh, who was a Holmdel High School student at the time, even created a website for the service called “Omar’s Neighborhood.”

"A lot has been said about the Coronavirus, but not a lot was said about possible solutions," Abuattieh previously told Patch. "It occurred to me that many of the elderly or immunocompromised might not have a family network who would be able to support them during this time."

In an online post, Holmdel Mayor Brian Foster and the Holmdel Township Committee extended their congratulations to Abuattieh for receiving the Rhodes Scholarship, adding that “Holmdel Township is incredibly proud of you.”

“Your hard work, intelligence, and commitment are an inspiration to our community,” township officials said. “Congratulations and well done, Omar!”

To learn more about Abuattieh being named as a Rhodes Scholar, you can click here.

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