We are delighted to congratulate two recent alumni Sai Campbell (2019–2022) and Max Kirkby (2019–2021) who were recently awarded Rhodes Scholarships. Sai and Max join a growing list of Burgmann Rhodes Scholars, including Yasmin Poole (2019–2021) and Freya Willis (2015–2017).
Sai Campbell
Burgmann alumna Sai Campbell (2019–2022) graduated from the Australian National University in 2022 with First Class Honours in the Bachelor of Philosophy program and was awarded the Tillyard Prize, which is the oldest and most prestigious award available to a graduating student. Sai studied on multiple bursaries and scholarships including the Burgmann Bursary, the National University Scholarship and the CAS Hawker Scholarship.
I was only able to attend ANU with the assistance of the needs-based scholarships and bursaries from Burgmann. The College’s commitment to supporting students from diverse backgrounds is unparalleled and truly transformative. Financial supports that target need are the ones that actually make a difference.
- Sai Campbell, Rhodes Scholar
Over the course of her program, she studied immunology and epidemiology and her thesis examined public health interventions in COVID-19. She also held various research positions at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Public Health, the John Curtin School of Medical Research, and in government researching infectious disease problems and e-cigarettes.
Sai is committed to improving the accessibility of tertiary education for students from low-SES backgrounds and conducted research for the ANU to inform practice. For this work, she was recognised by multiple awards, including the Burgmann College Principal’s Award for Overall Excellence, the Burgmann College Emerging Leader in Equality Prize (Honourable Mention), and was a Finalist in the ANU Undergraduate Student Volunteer of the Year.
Read Sai Campbell's reflections on becoming a Rhodes Scholar
Max Kirkby
Burgmann alumnus (2019–2021) Max Kirkby is originally from Adelaide, South Australia, where he attended Prince Alfred College. Max has always been a lover of sport, playing cricket and AFL since he was young. In recent years, and shaped by personal events, Max’s intellectual curiosity crystallised into a desire to help solve neurodegenerative disease and led him to start participating in the research at the ANU and beyond required to do so.
I wouldn’t have been in this position had it not been for the support network that has helped me along the way. Above all my family, but also the incredibly strong friendships that I have been lucky to gain from the Tuckwell program and Burgmann College.
– Max Kirkby, Rhodes Scholar
Max studied a Bachelor of Philosophy (Science) (Honours), also known as the PhB, at the ANU. The research-intensive focus and the subject breadth of this degree were highly influential in allowing him to pursue diverse research projects in areas such as innate immunity, synthetic peptide design, retinal degeneration and frontotemporal dementia.
Max is planning to study a DPhil in clinical neurosciences at Oxford. Specifically, he is interested in the neural networks that govern our processing of different types of information and how these may breakdown in neurodegenerative disease.
