Senior named Rhodes Scholar

Saturday, an IU senior was chosen as one of 32 Rhodes Scholars from the United States. Raju Raval, a senior and native of Ft. Wayne, won two or three years of study at the University of Oxford in England. The Rhodes Scholarships are the oldest international study award available to American students, according to a press release from the Rhodes Scholars Web site.\n"I look at the Rhodes Scholarship not as an achievement but as an opportunity," Raval said. "I look at it as an opportunity to have one's voice heard in whatever field one chooses." \nRaval said he plans to get a doctoral degree in molecular oncology at Oxford. At IU, he has a quadruple major in biochemistry, biology, religious studies and Spanish. He is a Wells Scholar, a Truman Scholar and a co-founder of the IU Circle K club, the collegiate version of the Kiwanis Club. \nWith Circle K, Raval was instrumental in putting together a donation distribution program for women and children living at "The Rise," a Bloomington-based intermediate housing alternative for women who have been abused, said Susan Dillman, director of media relations.\n"We started (the Circle K club) to increase volunteerism at IU," Raval said, "and to get people involved on campus and in the community." \nStudents interested in becoming Rhodes Scholars can apply either in the state where they permanently reside or where they have attended college for at least two years, according to the Rhodes Scholar Web site. The application asks for a personal statement on what a student wants to do if awarded the scholarship, a list of accomplishments and recommendation letters. State selection committees interviewed applicants on Dec. 6 to choose state nominees. Finalists appeared before district committees Saturday in eight cities across the country. Four Rhodes Scholars were chosen from each district (comprised of four states). Raval was interviewed by the district committee in Chicago. \nRaval said winners from the district were interested in a variety of fields, including politics, paleontology and space exploration. Milton Taylor, professor of biology, has worked with Raval for four years through the IU Science, Technology Research Scholars program, which allows students to work with faculty on research in their fields of interest. Raval participated in investigating the diagnostics and progression of breast cancer micrometastases, or the way the cancer spreads.\n"I was delighted (to hear the news)," Taylor said. "I was also a little bit surprised because the competition is very, very severe for this sort of fellowship."\nAfter completing his Ph.D at Oxford, Raval said he hopes to return to the United States to obtain a medical degree. He said he eventually wants to get involved with cancer research and health care policy. Raval said his lifelong interest in scientific and medical research became centered more specifically on cancer research when his mother was diagnosed with the disease.\n"A major motivating factor for me to get involved in cancer research was my mother fought cancer for eight years and passed away from that disease four years ago," he said.\nTaylor said Raval's strengths are ambition and determination.\n"I think both of these characteristics lead to him getting the fellowship," Taylor said. "Over and above, of course, he's extremely bright. And for someone so bright he's also a very decent, nice person"