She's worked for NASA. She holds a U.S. patent. She won both the Goldwater and Marshall scholarships. What's next for this twenty-three year old Dartmouth Medical School student?
Courtney Voelker was this year's recipient of the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship and will travel to Oxford University in October to study neuroscience.
After recovering from the initial shock, Voelker reported feeling both "overwhelmed" and "grateful."
"Actually I walked out of the interview thinking I would never get this," Voelker said, citing the high quality of the other applicants and the difficulty of the interviews.
Self-described as "adventurous, hardworking and spiritual," Voelker originally hails from Portland, Oregon and earned her undergraduate degree at Brown University, where she will return after completing the Rhodes fellowship to complete her MdPhd.Having already studied at Oxford her junior year in college, Voelker is no stranger to the British education system. Once abroad, she will be studying with the same laboratory team that she worked with as a undergraduate. Both Oxford professors Zoltn Molnar and Jeremy Taylor have agreed to work with her again.
The med student looks forward not only to the exciting academic opportunities that await her but also the chance to work with scientists from a vast variety of backgrounds.
"[Oxford] is a utopia that really attracts people from all over the world who really want to go back and make a difference in their countries," she said, later adding that this aggregation of multicultural resources is especially helpful in the sciences.
"You get a chance to see different ways of approaching a problem that you may not have realized before," she explained.
Although now basking in the glory of victory, Voelker described the Rhodes interview process as "extremely grueling," in contrast to the Marshall, which Voelker felt was "delightful."
The process involved an extensive written application as well as interviews at both the state and regional levels. A panel of judges even evaluated her spontaneous wit and social dexterity at a dinner party " a type of special interview that is unique to the Rhodes application process.
"I think Cecil Rhodes had a vision to create world leaders," Voelker said. "It's not just about strength in your field but it's also about people skills and being able to facilitate change in the world."
Despite the "grueling" nature of the interviews, Voelker said that they were one of her favorite parts of the application process because they provided her with the opportunity to meet fellow Rhodes aspirants.
The camaraderie, however, added what Voelker referred to as a "bittersweet" undertone to her success; she regrets that not all of the candidates could have won scholarships.
Describing her post-Oxford plans, Voelker said that after completing her MdPhd program, she hopes to work toward bridging what she views as a gap between the discoveries of medical research and the patients in need of these new treatments.
She is considering ultimately creating a research center that would foster an environment of close communication between both medial clinicians and research scientists.
According to Voelker, much of her inspiration for the idea stems from the childhood head injury and subsequent disability of her sister Jennifer.
Although tragic, Voelker sees her sister's disability as a "mixed blessing."
"I hope that I can take those experiences that have been painful in my family and turn them around to where I can use my talents to help other families in similar situations," she said.
Yet even on the eve of the possible realization of childhood dreams, Voelker remains true to her Dartmouth roots, admitting that the granite of New Hampshire does indeed, as the alma mater states, flows through her muscles and her brain.
"I'm really gonna miss New Hampshire," she said, adding that the New England snow fall holds a special place in her heart. "I've enjoyed every day I've been here."
