Ben Angel

DANVILLE, KY -- Centre College senior Ben Angel has won a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship to study at Oxford University next year.

"What can someone possibly say about their emotions when they learn that they'll be studying for a year at the oldest, most prestigious study institution in the English-speaking world?" says Angel, a philosophy major and English and creative writing minor from Campbellsville, Ky. "I'm going to be living and learning in the same place as such historical figures as Sir Phillip Sidney, Albert Einstein and John Locke. I'm stunned ... it really hasn't sunk in entirely."

Angel, who will be studying the physiology and philosophy of the sick and the dying, says he chose his course of study "for two reasons--the first being that the study will combine the two great interests of my life, medicine and philosophy. The second has more to do with the aim of the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship and my own personal desires--I intend to use this year of study to better prepare myself for a future career as a knowledgeable and morally alert physician."

Milton Reigelman, director of Centre's study abroad programs and a member of the Rotary district selection committee, says Angel stood out in a highly competitive field. "We interviewed 15 candidates, including a professional actress, a lawyer, and the top Kentucky students at excellent schools around the country. What immediately struck us was Ben's intelligence combined with a natural, boyish charm. Perhaps the thing that most impressed us was the fact that Ben had studied Eastern philosophy in Yamaguchi, where the Centre-in-Japan program is located."

Reigelman adds that Angel has already promised to serve as an "unofficial (and unpaid) graduate assistant" to the Centre-in-London program in the spring of '07, while he's at Oxford.

Since 1947 nearly 37,000 men and women from 100 nations have studied abroad under the auspices of Rotary International. Today it is the world's largest privately funded international scholarships program. More than 1,000 scholarships were awarded for study in 2003-04. Through grants totaling approximately    $428 million, recipients from some 70 countries studied in more than 70 nations.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

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