UA student wins Rhodes scholarship

PHOENIX (AP) - A University of Arizona student from Albuquerque, N.M., is among the 32 men and women from across the nation who have been selected as Rhodes scholars for 2010.

Justine Schluntz, a 22-year-old grad student in mechanical engineering and a nine-time All-American in swimming, will get all expenses for two to three years of study at the University of Oxford in England. Winners were chosen from 805 applicants endorsed by 326 different colleges and universities.

Schluntz told The Associated Press she started crying when she found out about the selection.

"After spending the day with the other 11 finalists in my district, it was just impossible to guess who would win because everyone was so accomplished," she said.

Schluntz and the other district finalists interviewed for the scholarships in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Saturday and found out the same day. Just two among them made it.

Schluntz earned her Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering at the UA and is now studying fluid dynamics as a grad student. At Oxford, she will research the viability of harnessing tidal energy from the oceans to use as a renewable resource.

She said she became interested in tidal power for the environmental aspect and because England has made it a priority to find new resources.

Schluntz said she'll also try to join Oxford's swim club. She was on the UA swim team that won the NCAA national championship in 2008, and she swam in the U.S. Olympic trials in 2004 and 2008. She holds NCAA and American records in relays.

She and the team hope to qualify for the NCAA championship in March.

Schluntz said she'll miss the Southwest and its laid-back atmosphere but is looking forward to starting school at Oxford in October.

"It'll definitely be a change, but I'm looking forward to it," she said. "You learn a lot by being placed in a new atmosphere."

Schluntz went to high school at Albuquerque Academy, where one of her younger sisters is a senior. Her other sister attends Santa Clara University in California.

Schluntz and the Rhodes scholars from the U.S. will join an international group of scholars selected from 14 other jurisdictions around the world. Approximately 80 scholars are selected each year.

The value of the Rhodes scholarships averages about $50,000 per year.

Rhodes Scholarships were created in 1902 by the will of British philanthropist Cecil Rhodes. Criteria for selection include high academic achievement, personal integrity, leadership potential and physical vigor.