JACKSON, Miss. – Millsaps College says one of its seniors, and the first African American woman from Mississippi, has been named a Rhodes Scholar.
Ericka M. Wheeler has been chosen as one of 32 U.S. men and women who will enter Oxford University next fall.
The scholarships provide all expenses for two or three years of study at the prestigious university in England.
Wheeler, 22, says she plans to attend medical school after she returns. A double major in English and history, Wheeler says she was inspired to become a physician after watching her grandfather suffer from Alzheimer's disease.
Millsaps says Wheeler would be the school's sixth student to become a Rhodes Scholar. The most recent Mississippi resident to win was Donald "Field" Brown, a 2013 Mississippi State University graduate.
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