Princeton senior Hadi Kamara wins Rhodes Scholarship

Princeton University senior Hadi Kamara has been awarded a Rhodes Scholarship for graduate study at the University of Oxford.

Kamara, of Alexandria, Virginia, is a politics major. A first-generation college student, he transferred to Princeton from Northern Virginia Community College in fall 2022 after serving for three years as a C-130 crew chief, first at the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command and then later at the U.S. Air Force European Command.

He is among 32 U.S. recipients of the prestigious fellowships, which fund two to three years of graduate study at Oxford. Students are recognized for their academic excellence, “but it is only the beginning,” said Ramona I. Doyle, American Secretary of the Rhodes Trust, in the Rhodes announcement. “The Trust seeks Scholars of exceptional character who are committed to making a profound difference in the world.”

At Oxford, he will pursue an MPhil in international relations. He will begin his studies there in October 2026.

Read the full announcement on the University's homepage.