Pitt receives Rhodes award again

Imagine winning an award only given to 32 of the best and brightest collegiate students in… Imagine winning an award only given to 32 of the best and brightest collegiate students in America. This isn’t just any award, it is the oldest international scholarship awarded in the United States and gives students the opportunity to study at one of the world’s premiere institutions.

The Rhodes Trust recently named Pitt senior Daniel Armanios as a 2007 Rhodes Scholar, the second year in a row a Pitt senior won the award. The award will allow Armanios to study at Oxford University in England for two or three years free of cost.

Pitt is only one of five public universities to produce a Rhodes Scholar in America, and Pitt is the only college or university in Pennsylvania to win one this year.

According to Armanios, Pitt is the first public university in the United States to have two Rhodes Scholars in back-to-back years.

“This is pretty significant because they usually give awards to Ivy League and private institutions,” Armanios said. “This school prepares you very, very well for this award.”

The application process to become a Rhodes Scholar is quite rigorous. First, Armanios was nominated by Pitt. He then filled out an application, composed a 1000-word essay about why he should be a Rhodes Scholar and then submitted a two-page summary of his resume. He also collected eight letters of recommendation on his behalf for the award.

Following the submission of his application he was chosen as a finalist for the honor. Armanios chose his home state of Georgia as the region in which he would like to be interviewed. He traveled to Georgia for a weekend interview session along with the other finalists from his region where he was treated to a reception and then subjected to a series of interviews.

As a conclusion to the weekend, the committee that conducted the interview session announced the two award recipients from the district. Armanios said winning this award was completely unexpected.

“I just let out a huge gasp,” he said. “I was completely shocked and surprised. I felt I had maybe a 0.001 percent chance of winning this.”

Armanios said that the moment his name was called was actually quite awkward, because he “was in such amazing company.”

“Just to be lucky enough and fortunate enough to be a finalist, it’s all still very surreal,” he said.

According to Armanios, there are many criteria that an individual must meet to win this award.

“The committee looks for three things: academic excellence, public service and the ability to inspire change, and finally vitality of life,” he said. “They want to make sure that you are not just a bookworm but that you are active in other areas.”

Other honors received by Armanios include being named a 2004 Goldwater Scholar in engineering, science and mathematics and a 2005 Truman Scholar for leadership as an undergraduate.

The resume that Armanios has posted on his personal Web site highlights his many accomplishments while in high school and at Pitt. One such accomplishment was the inception of “Session: Middle East,” which he describes as “a political simulation allowing students to apply innovative techniques for discussion on the Arab-Israeli conflict through a positive and experiential forum setting.”