Saint John BFFs off to Oxford after winning Rhodes scholarships
After attending different universities, Claire Wilbur and Alyssa Xu won prestigious honour to U.K. school
From her campus at Mount Allison University in Sackville, honours biochemistry student Claire Wilbur is preparing for a big move across the pond.
Accepted as one of two Rhodes scholarship winners from the Maritimes, Wilbur will be headed to Oxford University in England to study medicine, a profession she's wanted to go into since childhood.
The scholarship allows recipients to complete their graduate studies at Oxford with all course fees covered, along with an additional annual stipend for living expenses.
"My own family physician was so kind and so there wasn't ever a moment when I doubted that this was what I wanted to do," Wilbur said.
But she won't be alone in accepting one of the most prestigious scholarships in the world.
Wilbur's best friend growing up in Saint John, Alyssa Xu, is the other winner from the region.
"Winning this was just so incredible because if one of us had won it, we would have been just as happy as if we won it ourselves," Xu said.
Like Wilbur, she also wants to be a doctor, and said attending Oxford will help her widen her perspective of global medicine.
But as the two plan for a shared future, it's been a few years since they've lived near each other. Xu is now finishing her studies at Amherst College in Massachusetts.
"We played on the same sports teams, rode the same bus, very close all the way through childhood. And I think we had almost simultaneous interest in medicine as well," Xu said.
And Wilbur underlined just how close that bond has been.
"Alyssa and I have been friends for as long as I can remember, and it was an obvious friendship because we have a lot of the same values. We value our schoolwork. We were involved in all of the same sports, our parents were friends."
"And our respect for one another and encouragement and support didn't stop when she went to school in the States."
Describing the application process as extensive, each initially thought they were undertaking it alone.
"Alyssa and I didn't actually know that the other had applied until we had sent away our applications and we were waiting to hear back about interviews," Wilbur said.
They carpooled together to their interviews and were shocked to get the calls that evening, once they returned home: they had both been picked.
"And probably within five minutes, Alyssa and I were on the phone to each other," Wilbur said.
"The phone call was one of disbelief at what an incredible opportunity this would be for us as individuals," she said.
"And then on top of that, the fact that we get to go together and have somebody who knows what home is like ... is really exciting," Wilbur said.
Mentors say both students very deserving
One of Xu's mentors at Amherst is Richard Aronson, the school's health professions advisor and assistant dean of students.
"She's not only academically brilliant but more equally important is that she's a humanistic, humane person who cares deeply about others and really wants to improve the health and well-being of not only individuals, but also of her community," Aronson said.
Aronson said Xu has been deeply involved in Amnesty International, volunteering with a local mobile health clinic and playing varsity hockey. At Oxford, she will pursue a masters of science in translational health sciences.
"She doesn't go around, you know, boasting about any of this stuff. She just does this stuff because she's so altruistic and caring," he said.
"And she's going to be the kind of doctor who is going to contribute to addressing health-care inequality and disparities. She's going to be instrumental."
Wilbur has been a research assistant at the New Brunswick Heart Centre. At Oxford, she will pursue a master of science in physiology, anatomy, and genetics, with a focus on cardiovascular sciences
Wilbur's mentor at Mount Allison, biochemistry professor Tyson MacCormack, said it was immediately clear that "she really knew what she was doing" in his classes over the years.
"And so when she came to me and showed interest in pursuing research in and doing her honours research, I pretty much did whatever I could to to convince her to come to my lab," MacCormack said.
He said Wilbur observed data in the lab and quickly recognized the deeper importance, a skill MacCormack said is rare for students at her level.
"She's not going to have to have to really work to understand why those researchers at Oxford are so excited about some little piece of data," MacCormack said.
Wilbur is "not one to promote herself," and MacCormack said he considers himself lucky to have worked with a student of her calibre.
"It's really great to see somebody recognized like that," he said.
Hopes to return to New Brunswick
Wilbur said she's been speaking with her supervisors at Oxford and is excited to begin studying, but has her eyes set on a return home at some point.
"I'm hoping to be able to come back and perhaps finish my medical training here in New Brunswick and then practise here, because I think New Brunswick is really on the up and coming."
Xu agreed.
"My passion for health care started in Saint John and it would be a perfect full circle to come back and bring all this knowledge that I've gained, experiences, and give it all back to the Saint John community," she said.
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