Cadet named Rhodes Scholar

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U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) --  An academy senior added a Rhodes Scholarship to her growing list of accomplishments Nov. 22.

Cadet 1st Class Delavane Diaz was one of 32 U.S. citizens who will take post-graduate degree courses at the University of Oxford, in Oxford, England.

Diaz, who was also an Academic All-District Team volleyball player and Marshall Scholarship finalist, excels academically, athletically and militarily, officials said.

She was commander of the academy’s cadet wing during the second summer session, managing the day-to-day operations of 4,000 cadets during basic cadet training and the academy’s other summer training programs.

The Tampa, Fla., native also earned a 3.80 grade-point average in astronautical engineering while leading the Mountain West Conference in kills per game as a member of the varsity women’s volleyball team.

Rhodes Scholars are chosen in a three-stage process. First, candidates must be endorsed by their college or university. Selection committees in each state then nominate candidates who are interviewed by one of eight district selection committees.

Applicants are chosen on the basis of criteria set down in the will of Cecil Rhodes, a 19th-century British explorer and colonizer. These criteria are high academic achievement, integrity of character, a spirit of unselfishness, respect for others, potential for leadership and physical vigor. The characteristics are directed at fulfilling Rhodes’ hopes that the Rhodes Scholars would make an effective and positive contribution throughout the world. As he wrote, Rhodes Scholars should “esteem the performance of public duties as their highest aim.”

Diaz was named a state finalist following interviews in Miami on Nov. 19, and continued the process Nov. 21 in Atlanta at the regional interviews.

The Rhodes Scholarships are the oldest international fellowships, bringing the best students from around the world to study at the University of Oxford, officials said. They began in 1902, with the first American Scholars elected in 1904.

Rhodes Scholars study for two years at the University of Oxford in England. All educational costs are paid by the Rhodes Trustees. Each scholar receives an expense allowance during vacation time, as well as the cost of travel to and from Oxford.

Diaz is the 33rd cadet from the academy to be named a Rhodes Scholar. She will enter Oxford in October, almost exactly 100 years after the first class of American Rhodes Scholars did in 1904.