Henry Wu, UAHS Class of 2016
Upper Arlington High School graduate Henry Wu was recently named a 2020 Rhodes Scholar. He currently is a senior at The Ohio State University, where he is an honors student pursuing a double major in philosophy and political science.
The Rhodes Scholarship was founded in 1902 and supports graduate study at the University of Oxford in England. Thirty-two scholarships are awarded annually to outstanding seniors and recent graduates across the United States. The Rhodes Trust selected Wu for his commitment to fighting human trafficking and researching migration patterns and policies impacting the involuntary movement of peoples.
While at Upper Arlington High School, Wu was an outstanding student, a National Merit Finalist and a recipient of the prestigious International Baccalaureate Diploma. He has gone on to become an Eminence Fellow and a recipient of the Jeanne Bonnet McCoy Preeminent Scholarship at Ohio State.
He shared the following for this Alumni Spotlight:
Notable achievements at Upper Arlington High School
In my junior year at Upper Arlington, I won an award at The Ohio Academy of Science State Science Fair with my friend Nikolas Grotewold (Class of 2016), whom I have known since seventh grade. Our project focused on identifying a particular gene that helps protect Arabidopsis plants from pathogens.
College / career experiences
I joined the Upper Arlington Speech and Debate team in high school. I loved the process of engaging with arguments, and I began my time at Ohio State as a philosophy major.
But my experiences at Ohio State have also taught me the importance of community service. I co-founded an organization called Enlighten that works to address the issue of human trafficking in central Ohio. In these past few years, Enlighten has reached approximately 2,000 individuals through our outreach and awareness events, receiving Ohio State’s award for Excellence in Community Service Programming.
My academic research seeks to clarify our theoretical concepts of freedom. Next fall, I’ll be pursuing a master’s degree at Oxford University. After that, I intend to attend law school to pursue a career focusing on international law and human rights.
How did UA Schools prepare you for success?
Although my current research interests have nothing to do with plant genetics, I am grateful for the opportunities at Upper Arlington that have allowed me to broaden my understanding of the world — and to think critically and creatively.
Posted: Monday, December 16, 2019