Ark Valley News - Bel Aire is home to a Rhodes Scholar

Shegufta Huma

Bel Aire is home to a Rhodes Scholar
By The News staff
Last Updated: November 23, 2016

A Bel Aire woman was named a Rhodes Scholar.

Shegufta A. Huma, a senior at The University of Kansas majoring in political science, was among 32 U.S. recipients announced Nov. 20.

She plans to study refugees and forced migration, as well as public policy, at the University of Oxford in England.

"We are very proud of Shegufta's election as a Rhodes Scholar," KU Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little said in a news release. "Besides being an outstanding scholar, she is a powerful spokesperson for the marginalized and most vulnerable members of our society, and her voice will now have the opportunity to resonate on an international level."

Rhodes Scholarships provide all expenses for two or three years of study at Oxford.

Huma came to the United States from Bangladesh. She speaks several languages and is working toward justice for Muslim immigrants, the Rhodes Trust announced.

Huma said in a news release she was grateful to receive the opportunity and that she was ready to get to work.

"This has been one of the most humbling experiences of my life. I owe a debt of gratitude to everyone who shares my joy during triumphs like this but, more importantly, those who help me power through the struggles that have led me here," Huma said. "I'm overjoyed to have this opportunity to further my commitment to social justice through my studies at Oxford."

At KU, Huma's involvement has included Student Senate, the Women of Color Collective, the Muslim Student Association and Margaret Amini Scholarship Hall. She has also served on the Lawrence Fair Housing Committee and founded the Imagine Coalition, advocating for marginalized students.

She was one of only 20 KU sophomores selected for the University Scholars Program. She works at KU as a peer educator for the Office of Multicultural Affairs and as peer outreach adviser for the Office of Fellowships & Scholarships at the University Honors Program.

Huma will enter Oxford in October 2017 and plans to pursue two one-year degrees that will prepare her to enter a career serving society by working in organizations related to the global refugee crisis and related social policy.

She plans to spend her first year obtaining a master's degree in refugee and forced migration studies, followed by a year obtaining a master's degree in public policy.

Huma traveled to Chicago to interview for the award on Friday and Saturday. She was one of two winners from a district including finalists from Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Tennessee.