NEWBURYPORT — Port native Kate Herndon continued to weave an impressive academic career earlier this month, when she was named one of only 32 people in the nation this year to receive a Rhodes Scholarship.
“I’m so excited,” she said. “I felt very shocked at first but it’s definitely starting to sink in. I obviously love learning a lot, so to have this opportunity to go and learn at one of the most distinguished universities in the world is just so amazing.”
The 21-year-old is a senior at the University of Alabama where she is majoring in criminal justice and history with a concentration in legal history.
She is only the 17th student at the Tuscaloosa-based university to ever be named a Rhodes Scholar. Next fall, she will be headed to England where she will study for a graduate degree at the University of Oxford.
Created in 1902 by the will of Cecil Rhodes, Rhodes Scholarships are considered to be one of the most prestigious academic awards for American college graduates. They pay all expenses for two or three years of study at the University of Oxford, thanks to funding provided in partnership with the Second Century Founders, John McCall MacBain O.C., The Atlantic Philanthropies as well as many other generous benefactors.
Notable Rhodes Scholar alumni include former U.S. President Bill Clinton, astronomer Edwin Hubble, and political commentator George Stephanopoulos.
Herndon said she’s thrilled to be joining those ranks.
The 2021 Newburyport High School graduate became well known at the Newburyport Senior/Community Center before she headed to college. There she spent considerable time working as an intern and then later as a part-time assistant.
While she was at the Senior/Community Center, she handled phone inquiries, scheduled tax aid appointments as well as Medicare consultations and organized rides on the COA bus. Herndon also drew high praise from retired Council on Aging Director Paula Burke who called her “compassionate,” as well as community and family oriented.
Since going to the University of Alabama, Herndon has lead a busy academic life.
She serves as vice president of the XXXI female honor society, and is a member of the Anderson Society, Omicron Delta Kappa and Mortar Board. She is also a student ambassador for the Women and Gender Resource Center, director of the Student Government Association SAFE Center Committee and managing editor for the Capstone Journal of Law and Public Policy.
In 2023, Herndon also took home the Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service, as well as her school’s John Fraser Ramsey Premier Award earlier this year.
A lot of Herndon’s academic work has been centered around domestic violence.
“My senior thesis traced United Kingdom policies on domestic violence in the 20th century,” she said. “I have also interned at the Domestic Violence Center in Tuscaloosa. I also worked in an association of shelters in Vienna, Austria this summer for the Obama-Chesky Scholarship.”
Herndon said she originally planned to go to law school when she was finished with her undergraduate degree next year. But instead, she decided to apply for several fellowships, including the Rhodes and Marshall Scholarships as well as the Fulbright Program.
The Rhodes Scholarship application process began in early October.
“I was a finalist for the Marshall but the Rhodes interview happened first. So I had to withdraw from that process,” she said.
The process of applying for the Rhodes Scholarship, she added, was a lengthy one.
“You have to write two essays, a personal statement and an academic one,” Herndon said. “You have to find a way to weave things like scholarship and creativity into your own life story and talk about how you embody those things. That gets you thinking about where you’ve been, where you are right now and where you’d like to be.”
Herndon said she found out she was a finalist on Halloween. Interviews were then held in early November.
“The people on the panel were so interesting to talk to,” Herndon said. “They asked me about my work with domestic violence and kind of what I do. Then they posed some hypothetical questions to see how I might handle them. Like, if I’m a policy maker, why would I invest in a domestic violence shelter?”
Last week, Herndon found out she was indeed a Rhodes Scholar meaning she will be flying across the pond next the fall.
“A lot of the steps I have taken have logically led me here, even if I didn’t necessarily realize it at the time,” she said. “I love learning and I love being in a community with other people who want to learn. So I think I’m definitely ready for this and just so excited for it.”
Herndon is the second of four children (two boys and two girls.)
“We’re a very tight-knit family and I think my brothers and sisters are already trying to plan some trips over to England before I even have my own flight,” she said. “But I wouldn’t be able to do all of the things that I do without all of their support. I’m very lucky.”
Her mother, Kristina Herndon, said she couldn’t be more thrilled for her oldest daughter.
“We all couldn’t be prouder here,” Kristina Herndon said. “We’re all floating on cloud nine.”
Kristina Herndon added Kate has always been an avid learner so becoming a Rhodes Scholar seemed the most logical course in her evolution.
“I used to think we might have an attorney here but now I’m thinking we might have the first female president, right in our midst and we don’t even know it,” she said. “She’s just got something special. An old soul, mixed with humor and intelligence.”