On Nov. 17, 2025, Esmeralda Abreu Jerez ’25 and Noah da Silva ’25 were named the College’s 82nd and 83rd Rhodes Scholars. Abreu Jerez and da Silva will receive a full scholarship to conduct postgraduate studies at the University of Oxford.
The two students join a group of recent Dartmouth graduates to receive the prestigious fellowship. Most recently, Jessica Chiriboga ’24 and Zachary Lang ’23 were named Rhodes Scholars in 2023.
In an interview with The Dartmouth, Abreu Jerez, who double majored in quantitative social science and geography modified with African and African American studies at Dartmouth, said she is planning to complete master’s programs in epidemiology and health systems and hopes to implement “equitable and caring” healthcare policies.
She added that she decided to apply for the Rhodes Scholarship because she was interested in Oxford’s medical department and “focus on women’s health.”
During her junior year at Dartmouth, Abreu Jerez conducted research on women’s maternal health and wrote a thesis on labor rights and organizing for healthcare workers in New York City.
“Because that is a very feminized labor force, it intercepted with a lot of the issues that I was interested in,” Abreu Jerez said.
Da Silva, a major in Earth sciences modified with biology at Dartmouth, said he plans to use the scholarship to conduct research at Oxford on Bermuda microsnails.
During his junior year at Dartmouth, da Silva participated in the earth sciences department’s stretch program — an undergraduate program that allows undergraduates to travel across a variety of landscapes— where he garnered applicable knowledge for his senior thesis.
In the past, da Silva also contributed to an effort to stop a tourist zipline in the Amazon rainforest, allowing the area to be preserved as a habitat for microsnails.
Da Silva encouraged students to explore more opportunities provided by the College, such as the biology foreign studies program and the stretch program.
“At Dartmouth, I realized we have the freedom to do anything we want,” he said. “I would encourage everyone to just explore.”
Fellowships and Scholars Programs director Christie Harner, who advises students in their applications to the Rhodes Scholarship, said she has noticed that Dartmouth applicants apply to the program because they “want to be with like-minded scholars from all across the world.”
She added that her office holds information sessions in the winter for students who are interested in the Rhodes Scholarship and provides individual advising for the application process.
“Whether it’s the Rhodes Scholarship or another fellowship, they want to know you care about something so deeply that you can not stop yourself from pursuing it,” Harner said.
