Welcome to Carley-Jane Stanton (Prairies & St. Anne's 2016), the new Rhodes Project Profile Coordinator!

The Rhodes Project is thrilled to welcome its newest staff member, Carley-Jane Stanton (Prairies & St. Anne's 2016), who has joined the Project as Profile Coordinator. We asked Carley-Jane a few questions to get to know her and welcome her to the team. 

1. What has been the best part of your time at Oxford so far?

Oxford has been a whirlwind so far, but I'm absolutely loving the opportunity to have conversations with students from across disciplines, backgrounds, and the world. I was told it would be an intense experience that I wouldn't get anywhere else, and when I'm rushing from one public lecture to another, talking politics with a group of students from across the globe, I certainly see why! Of course, there are more mundane things I love about Oxford, too, like living in such a cycle-friendly city, the great coffee shops that let me sit and read for hours on end, and the new library at St. Anne's college!

2. What made you want to work with the Rhodes Project?

When I was presented with the opportunity to apply for the Rhodes Scholarship, I had apprehensions about the scholarship's legacy-- which certainly have not gone away-- and also whether I would find myself at home at Oxford and within the Rhodes community. I don't think I was alone, at least in the North American context, in having an internal image of a Rhodes Scholar that was predominantly white, male, and from an Ivy League university. When searching for scholars that didn't fit that image, I came across the Rhodes Project profile series, and was inspired and exhilarated by the stories of women from around the world and from such incredibly diverse backgrounds who have taken up the scholarship. 

Representation is important for magnifying the work women do in their professional spheres, as well as to inspire more young women to feel empowered to pursue paths that have traditionally not been the most welcoming for them, so I knew immediately that if I received the scholarship, I would want to help with the work being done at the Rhodes Project. Working here was such a central goal for my time at Oxford that I'd reached out to the Rhodes Project to get involved months before I landed in the UK! 

3. What book (or books) are you currently reading?

Since my interests cross multiple disciplines, I always have a number of books on the go! Right now I'm flipping through Talking Contemporary Curating by Terry Smith, Weeds by Richard Mabey and Citizen by Claudia Rankine. I've also been drawn toward graphic novels and comics lately, as I think they're an excellent way to take in design, stories, (and jokes!) without the time commitment of a novel. My favourites I've read recently are Exits by Daryl Seitchik and Wendy by Walter K. Scott.