Six Harvard students selected as Rhodes Scholars

By Zachary T. Sampson, Globe Correspondent

Nearly half of next year’s Rhodes Scholars from the United States are connected to New England, with six award recipients hailing from Harvard College.

Rhodes Scholarships cover expenses for two or three years at the University of Oxford in England for elite college graduates. The Rhodes Trust announced the 32 American winners for 2013 this weekend; about 80 students receive scholarships worldwide each year.

In addition to the students from Harvard, seven winners are from Yale University, one is a woman from Maine studying at Stanford University, and another is a Brown University senior.

Elliot F. Gerson, American secretary of the Rhodes Trust, said in a statement that award recipients are chosen based on criteria outlined by the British philanthropist who created the scholarships, Cecil Rhodes.

“These criteria are high academic achievement, integrity of character, a spirit of unselfishness, respect for others, potential for leadership, and physical vigor,” Gerson said.

The 2013 class of Rhodes Scholars includes Margaret C. Hayden, a Stanford University senior from Brunswick, Maine; and Clayton P. Aldern, a senior at Brown University from Cedar, Minn. Award recipients from Harvard include Phillip Z. Yao, of North Caldwell, N.J.; Julian B. Gewirtz, of Hamden, Conn.; Aiden C. de B. Daly, of New York, N.Y.; Nina M. Yancy, of DeSoto, Texas; Allan J. Hsiao, of Louisville, Ky.; Benjamin B.H. Wilcox, of Winnetka, Ill.

Scholars from Yale include: Benjamine Y. Liu, of Westlake Village, Calif.; Jennifer M. Bright, of New York, N.Y.; David M. Carel, of Penn Valley, Pa.; Dakota E. McCoy, of Wexford, Pa.; Micah A. Johnson, of Canton, Ohio; Rhiana E. Gunn-Wright, of Oak Lawn, Ill.; Catherine Laporte-Oshiro, of Larkspur, Calif.

Three other students with connections to the region were also announced this weekend as George J. Mitchell Scholars by the US-Ireland Alliance. Mitchell scholars study for one year in Ireland and Northern Ireland, and the program covers the cost of tuition and housing in addition to providing living and travel stipends.

The 12 Mitchell scholars in the Class of 2014 include, Lucas Mason-Brown, a Brown university student from Belmont, Mass.; Harold McNamara, a Yale University graduate from Venetia, Pa.; and Jonathan Poole, a student at the US Naval Academy from Yarmouth, Maine.