Duke Senior Jenna Smith Wins Rhodes Scholarship

Jenna Smith, a Robertson Scholar at Duke, will student at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.
Jenna Smith, a Robertson Scholar at Duke, will student at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.

Duke University senior Jenna Smith was among the 32 recipients selected this weekend for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, chosen from among 865 applicants across the U.S. after receiving the nomination of their university.

Recipients are selected based on academic achievement, personal integrity, leadership potential and a commitment to service. The scholarship provides all expenses for two years of study at the University of Oxford.

“Jenna Smith is an exceptional thinker, leader, writer, and reformer, and I am delighted she has been selected to receive the Rhodes Scholarship,” said President Vincent E. Price. “During her studies at Duke, she has been involved with restorative justice through leadership, journalism and civic engagement, and I look forward to all that she will accomplish during her time at Oxford and beyond.”

From Scotch Plains, New Jersey, Jenna Smith is committed to advancing restorative justice throughout the Deep South. 

As a Robertson Scholar, Smith is pursuing an International Comparative Studies major with a minor in journalism and media. Co-president of the Duke Justice Project, Smith and her team established a partnership with the NC Department of Public Safety Division of Juvenile Justice to host a leadership development summer camp for youth throughout North Carolina. She has worked with the Innocence Project, the Delta Center for Culture and Learning in Mississippi, and the Wilson Center for Science and Justice.

She is a co-instructor of a House Course on correctional systems and the re-entry process and serves as a facilitator at Restorative Justice Durham. An accomplished journalist, she has reported for the Chicago Tribune and the 9th Street Journal.

At Oxford, Smith plans to pursue an MSc in criminology and criminal justice and an MSc in comparative social policy. She plans to relocate to the Mississippi Delta to practice law and work towards substantive criminal-legal reform.

The Rhodes Scholarship was created in 1902 according to the will of British philanthropist Cecil Rhodes. It has long been considered one of the most prestigious prizes in academia. Rhodes Scholars have gone on to lead in every field of study and profession. Interested prospective applicants should contact the Nationally Competitive Scholarships advisors in the Office of University Scholars and Fellows.

A complete list of this year's recipients is online at http://www.rhodesscholar.org.

More About Jenna Smith

Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area Director Rolando Herts; Duke Robertson Scholar Jenna Smith; Reena Evers-Everette; Chaunté Smith; and Duke Robertson Scholar Vishal Jammulapati, in Jackson, Mississippi, pose outside the Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center. Smith and Jammulapati spent summer 2022 documenting Civil Rights history for the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area. Photo courtesy of Vishal Jammulapati.
Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area Director Rolando Herts; Duke Robertson Scholar Jenna Smith; Reena Evers-Everette; Chaunté Smith; and Duke Robertson Scholar Vishal Jammulapati, in Jackson, Miss., pose outside the Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center. Smith and Jammulapati spent summer 2022 documenting Civil Rights history for the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area. Photo courtesy of Vishal Jammulapati.

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