Africana studies major will pursue a master’s degree at University of Oxford
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Rutgers University senior Corbin Laedlein is the recipient of the prestigious Clarendon Scholarship awarded by Oxford University Press to enable international students to study at Oxford."Corbin Laedlein is exactly the kind of young leader the world needs now – someone with intellect, grounded experience, vision, an understanding of the large forces that prevent and enable change, and a passionate commitment to making a difference in the lives of local people,” said Arthur D. Casciato, the director of the Office of Distinguished Fellowships for Rutgers University. “It didn’t surprise me a bit that the University of Oxford chose to honor Corbin with the Clarendon Scholarship.”
Casciato noted that this is the second year in a row that a Rutgers student has been chosen for the Clarendon Scholarship. Last year, Rutgers materials science and engineering major Brian Spatocco was awarded the scholarship, but he turned it down to take a Gates Scholarship at Cambridge.
Oxford University Press established the Clarendon Fund in 2001 to help the most academically able students come to the United Kingdom and study at Oxford. The scholarship covers a full year tuition and expenses. There are currently about 250 international scholars at Oxford from 43 different nations, with the largest number from the United States, Australia, Canada and China.
Laedlein said he plans on combining his course of study in social policy at Oxford with a year of study at the London School of Economics, where he has also been accepted to pursue a master’s degree in environment and development. “With the two programs, I hope to be able to tackle issues of social policy as well as sustainable development,” Laedlein said. He will attend the London School of Economics after he completes his year at Oxford.
During his studies at Rutgers, Laedlein, whose interests include the Brazilian martial art of capoeira, spent a semester in Brazil interning for the nonprofit Steve Biko Institute in Salvador helping disadvantaged Afro-Brazilians empower themselves through education programs.
“Rutgers offered me wonderful opportunities to pursue my interest in Africana studies and to intern in Brazil,” Laedelin said. “I’ve become interested in how globalization and sustainability impact public policies, such as health and education, especially in developing nations, and I look forward to pursuing this course of study.”
On campus, Laedlein was co-chair of GOYA (Galvanizing and Organizing Youth Activism at Rutgers) and helped organize GOYA’s annual Walk for Literacy Partners, co-sponsored by the Global Literacy Project. The walk’s proceeds last year went not only to schools in New Brunswick and Roselle, but also helped education projects in Kenya and South India.
Laedlein and his friend Phillip Handy helped found Rutgers’ first mixed-race student group, Fusion. During the summer of 2006, Laedlein interned for New Demographic, a diversity education company where he researched topics for the podcast “Addicted to Race.” His work that summer culminated with the production of his own episode which explored issues of Eurocentrism in education.
“Corbin is an excellent example of everything positive about Rutgers,’’ said Kim Butler, Rutgers’ associate professor of history, Africana studies. “For him, social action is not just something to be studied and discussed – Corbin’s incorporated it into everything he’s done here at the university.”
Media Contact: Coleen Dee Berry
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