Long Valley’s Nicholas Hayes Was Named As Rhodes Scholar

LONG VALLEY, NJ — A Long Valley resident studying at the University of Alabama was the only person from New Jersey recently selected among 32 American students for the coveted Rhodes Scholar program.

Nicholas Hayes, who is a senior majoring in Applied Mathematics and German at the University of Alabama, plans to major and earn both the Master of Science degree at Oxford University in Mathematical Science and the Master of Studies in Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics.

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While studying at the University of Alabama, Hayes took an intensive course in Swahili language and culture, having been additionally awarded a Boren Scholarship to study abroad in Tanzania.

In his junior year at the University of Alabama, Hayes - an ultramarathoner - was chosen as the school’s “outstanding junior” for his commitment to "scholarship, leadership and service."

Among his accolades, Hayes has edited an undergraduate science journal, interned at the NOAA in fisheries science, has published poetry and been published in academic journals in politics and biology, according to his bio from The Rhodes Trust.

Rhodes Scholarships provide all expenses for two or three years of study at the University of Oxford, which is ranked the number one university in the world in some global rankings.

The total value of the Scholarship averages $75,000 per year, and up to as much as US$250,000 for Scholars who remain at Oxford for four years in certain departments.

There is a two-stage process in which Rhodes Scholars are selected.

First, applicants must be endorsed by their college or university. This year more than 2,300 students began the application process, in which 826 were endorsed by 247 different colleges and universities.

Committees of Selection in each of 16 U.S. districts then invite the strongest applicants to appear before them for interview. Each district interviewed at least 14 finalists.

The 32 Rhodes Scholars chosen from the United States will join an international group of Scholars chosen from 23 other jurisdictions, which came from more than 60 countries.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.