Two Dartmouth Community Members Named Rhodes Scholars

Jessica Chiriboga '24

A history major and government minor from Glendora, California, Jess plans to use the Rhodes to pursue an MPhil degree in history at Oxford, where she will study Latino environmentalism and outdoor recreation in the San Gabriel mountains around Los Angeles from the early 20th century to the present day.

"I hope the Rhodes Scholarship will broaden my understanding of our biggest environmental and political challenges and nurture my growth as a leader," says Jess, who plans a career in history or law.

Jess currently serves as student body president of Dartmouth Student Government, where she has been active throughout her time at Dartmouth. In particular, she has been deeply involved in advocating for student mental health. "I am passionate about creating spaces that are better fit for the people in them and working to improve mental health resources and policies and other student life issues for undergraduates on campus," she says. "I am eager to use what I have learned—as a student leader, outdoorswoman, and student of history and government—to advance justice in the United States and beyond."

Zachary Lang '23

Zachary, who hails from Franconia, New Hampshire and double-majored in history and philosophy at Dartmouth, is currently on a Fulbright Program award in Belgium, where he is teaching academic English to undergraduates and graduate students at Hasselt University.

He plans to use the Rhodes Scholarship to pursue a BPhil degree—a stepping stone to a doctoral program, and, ultimately, his dream of an academic career in philosophy. Zachary says he has always been interested in philosophy, but it wasn't until Dartmouth that he was able to study it formally. "I was not only interested in philosophy as an intrinsic matter, but also because it was helpful for the kind of sexual violence prevention work that I was engaged in," he says.

That work includes serving as a member of the student advisory board for the Sexual Violence Prevention Project and as executive policy chair of the Student and Presidential Committee on Sexual Assault, through which he worked to expand restorative justice pathways for survivors.

Equally important to Zachary is the community of peers that Rhodes brings together. "My thinking has benefited a lot from talking with similarly minded, motivated peers, and I view the Rhodes community as an extension of that—students who are academically and practically interested in advancing social issues coming together and working collaboratively across disciplines."

This story is adapted from an article by Hannah Silverstein that appeared on the Dartmouth News site in November 2023.

Photographs by Katie Lenhart