Studying abroad is often a special experience, but it proved a life-changing one for UQ student and 2008 Queensland Rhodes Scholar Anna Kloeden.
It was while volunteering at a Chinese orphanage on exchange in 2005 that Ms Kloeden realised her passion for human rights law, with the Rhodes scholarship enabling her further study in the field at the University of Oxford next year.
Ms Kloeden, from Westlake, will complete a Master of Laws at Oxford, focusing her research on how to strengthen the trade links between Australia and China without compromising the human rights of those involved.
"China is shaping up to be a superpower in our region in the next five to 10 years and the Australian government understands the importance of focusing on that relationship," she said.
"It's increasingly important to us economically in terms of trade and politically as well, and the more people who have the capability to manage that relationship the better."
Ms Kloeden holds a Bachelor of Arts (Chinese) from UQ, and will complete her Bachelor of Laws studies at the end of the year.
After her exchange experience Ms Kloeden said she realised how her language and legal skills could be used to help others, and has since volunteered regularly at the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal and at her local church where she teaches English to Chinese immigrants.
"When I started studying law I wasn't at all sure that it would be suited to me," Ms Kloeden said.
"But the two interests have really come together, and through my studies and opportunities such as volunteering at the Brisbane Homeless Persons' Legal Clinic I've begun to see how the law can be used for social betterment and change."
Ms Kloeden is the 7th consecutive Queensland Rhodes Scholar from UQ, and joins five state-based winners and another three from Australia-at-large.
After graduating in December she will begin work in the Brisbane office of Blake Dawson Waldron lawyers before starting her studies at Oxford in September next year.
Background to Rhodes Scholarships
Rhodes Scholarships, founded in 1902 under the will of the late Cecil John Rhodes, are tenable at the University of Oxford for an initial two years, with the possibility of a third. Candidates must be aged between 19 and 25 years and citizens of the country from which they are selected.
Scholarships are assigned annually in Australia, Canada, India, Jamaica, New Zealand, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, the United States, Germany, British Caribbean, Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan, Kenya and Hong Kong.
Since the scheme began, more than 500 Australian Rhodes Scholars have been selected. Women became eligible in 1972.
The first Rhodes Scholarship awarded in Queensland was in 1904 by Arthur Stanley Roe, five years before an Act of Parliament was passed to set up The University of Queensland.
The qualities set out by the late Cecil Rhodes for those seeking Rhodes Scholarships include academic and intellectual excellence, integrity of character, respect for fellow beings and a capacity for leadership. Sporting prowess is an advantage, but not a necessity.
Media: Cameron Pegg at UQ Communications (07 3365 2049, c.pegg@uq.edu.au)
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