Queen’s University graduate Iain Sander (Sc’17) has been selected as a 2018 Rhodes Scholar.

Mr. Sander, who studied Chemical Engineering at Queen’s, is the university’s 58^th Rhodes Scholar and will begin his studies at Oxford University next fall.

The Rhodes Scholarships are considered the oldest and most prestigious international scholarships for outstanding scholars from any academic field of study.

“It is a tremendous honour to have been selected as a 2018 Rhodes Scholar, and I am very grateful to everyone in Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science and the Queen’s community who has supported me throughout the application process,” says Mr. Sander, who is currently studying medicine at the University of Alberta. “I have been fortunate to learn from world-class professors who have consistently challenged me academically and supported me in pursuit my research interests. Queen’s University will always hold a special place in my heart and I am very grateful for relationships I developed and the intellectual and personal growth I experienced during my undergraduate career.”

Mr. Sander graduated from Queen’s with first class honours in Chemical Engineering earlier this year. He received the Medal in Chemical Engineering and the Society for Chemical Industry Merit Award in recognition of achieving the highest standing in his discipline.

At Oxford, he plans to study orthopaedic biomechanics to help improve the health, lives, and independence of individuals with disabilities.

“On behalf of Queen’s University, I am pleased to congratulate Iain on this tremendous accomplishment and opportunity,” says Principal and Vice-Chancellor Daniel Woolf. “I am confident that at Oxford he will apply the skills and experience he has gained at Queen’s, as well as through his years of leadership and community service, to further his contributions to society. I have no doubt he will thrive as a Rhodes Scholar.”

During his time at Queen’s, Mr. Sander volunteered extensively on campus and in the Kingston community, coaching the local Special Olympics swim team, mentoring first-year engineering design teams as they worked on award-winning adaptive buoyancy devices, and tutoring peers in English.

Mr. Sander, who grew up in Lethbridge, Alta., was a Loran Scholar and a recipient of the Queen’s Chancellor’s Scholarship. As part of the Loran Scholar program he spent his community development summer in France as a live-in assistant with L’Arche, an organization for people with intellectual disabilities.

This is the second straight Rhodes Scholar for Queen’s after Claire Gummo, a Political Studies and Gender Studies student, received the prestigious scholarship in 2017.

Funded by the estate of Cecil J. Rhodes (the Rhodes Trusts), 11 Rhodes Scholars are selected each year from across Canada to outstanding students who demonstrate a strong propensity to emerge as “leaders for the world’s future.”

The scholarships to Oxford University are for postgraduate studies or a second bachelor’s degree and cover tuition and fees and provides a stipend to help cover living expenses for two to three years of study while at Oxford.

Learn more about the 2018 Rhodes Scholars.