Belize’s Abbie Godoy is the 2020 Rhode Scholarship Recipient
Abbie Godoy
On Tuesday, Abbie Godoy was named as the recipient of the prestigious 2020 Commonwealth Caribbean Rhodes Scholarship. The twenty-year-old Belizean activist will pursue her graduate studies at the University of Oxford in Developmental Economics. Annually, the Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee looks for young women and men of outstanding intellect, character, leadership, and commitment to service and who demonstrate a strong propensity to emerge as leaders for the world’s future. And on Tuesday, following interviews with applicants from across the Caribbean who were shortlisted, Godoy came out on top. She is the first female University of Belize student to land the opportunity and today, at the Philip Goldson International Airport, News Five got a one-on-one with an excited Godoy. She shares the process going forward.
Abbie Godoy, Rhode Scholar
“Honestly, up until just now, I hadn’t really believed it yet. When I saw my mom, I was like okay this is real; I actually did get it. But it feels unreal actually.”
Duane Moody
“Talk to us about what it entails and how you plan to take that on?”
Abbie Godoy
“Well it is very competitive; it’s Oxford so you are competing against the best of the best. The actual process of getting the Rhode Scholarship was competing with the best of the best so it was a little intimidating coming from the smallest school, one of the most underrepresented nations. But knowing that I got invited to the table was big, winning it was even bigger and I am sure if I try really hard, I can kick Oxford’s butt. Now the way the scholarship is set up, you can’t apply to Oxford until you have secured funding and can prove that you can fund yourself. So the steps are I have to apply to Oxford and there is a little debate whether or not I should continue in development studies or if I should go into economics. So I have to get advised from one of the Rhode House Scholars. Actually the past Rhode scholar from Trinidad actually already messaged me; he is working in that same department and he is willing to talk to me through the process. And that is basically it; come next August, I go.”
The Rhodes Scholarship is one of the oldest in the world and has had a distinguished history. The scholarships were established under the will of Cecil John Rhodes, a British diamond magnate and imperialist, who died in 1903. The scholarship is regarded as the preeminent graduate scholarship.
