Two Alumni Receive Rhodes Scholarships

Rivka Hyland ’12 and Evan Soltas ’12 were named Rhodes Scholars on Nov. 21 and will pursue masters degrees in scholastic theology and applied statistics, respectively, at Oxford University next fall.The Rhodes scholar winners were chosen from 869 talented and qualified applicants who were endorsed by 316 colleges and universities. The scholarships cover all expenses—about $50,000 per year—for two or three years of study at Oxford University starting next October.In the fall of 2009, Hyland, of Philadelphia, PA, and Soltas, of Rumson, NJ, started at Exeter as new lowers. Coincidentally, on the first day of class, they had first period physics with each other—and then two other classes together. Since, they have been great friends who have challenged each other intellectually. They worked alongside each other on the 133rd board of The Exonian as editors and, senior year, they attended prom together.

“She’s a formidable scholar, and anyone who knows her has enormous respect for the depth and breadth of her intellect and how passionate she is.”

 Though they have a lot in common, especially their “unusually strong intellectual firepower,” as history instructor and close friend of both scholars, Michael Golay, said, their chosen fields of study are vastly different.At Exeter, Hyland took as many language, history and religion courses as her scheduled allowed.  Even before Exeter that she had a passion for Islamic theology: “I never looked back,” she said. Soltas, on the other hand, focused on history, economics and mathematics.Golay, who taught them both and worked with them on The Exonian, said, “It would be hard to find enough superlatives to describe them. It was quite a privilege to work with them. They kept me on my toes.”After graduation, Hyland studied at Harvard University and Soltas at Princeton University. At their respective colleges, they continued to excel.During his time at Exeter and Princeton, Soltas’s economic blog, “Economics & Thought,” grew in popularity. His incredible analytic mind sparked the interest of many, which led him to accept a position at the Washington Post—he wrote Wonkbook, the morning email newsletter of Ezra Klein’s Wonkblog. Today, he is a public figure in the world of economics and an active contributor to the Bloomberg View and Vox.At Harvard, Hyland picked up ancient Greek to supplement the eight languages in which she was already proficient: English, Czech, French, Arabic, Japanese, Chinese, Latin and German. She used most of these languages—especially Arabic, Latin and Greek—to do research for her senior thesis paper comparing medieval Islamic theology to Christian theology of the same period.Although different in many aspects, their passion for studies ties them together. Hyland said, “I stare at dead texts until one of us blinks. It’s the most intense and exciting thing to me.” She finds the ancient texts she deals with to be fascinating, especially since they either haven’t been intensely studied or compared with the other works she analyzes.Likewise, Soltas, since Exeter, and all through his time at Princeton, has demonstrated a passion for economics and statistics. “Taking ideas and seeing how true they are and what we can do better: that’s what motivates me and interests me above all else,” he said.As Golay said, “It makes me tired just thinking about how busy they are,” which is one of the reasons why he was not surprised when they were named as two of the 32 Rhodes scholars of 2016.With this opportunity to study at Oxford University as Rhodes scholars, both are well on a path to change the world for the better.Soltas said he plans to use his Oxford education to build upon the tools he already has, “which can help me make a valuable contributions in this world. Economic policy informed by data and evidence is really important, and I will be able to push that agenda along.”Hyland said she hopes to shed light on modern issues in the Middle East as they relate to religion and culture by further studying and comparing medieval Islamic theology and thought to that of Christianity during the same time period. She already has a degree in medieval Islamic theology, so she will be able to use Oxford’s resources to research scholastic theology.“The tax of my generation is to figure out the conflicts in the Middle East,” Hyland said, and she believes her research can be part of the resolution process.Soltas has utilized his talents in similar ways. For instance, last Sunday, The New York Times Sunday Review published an opinions piece he wrote that discussed the Google search terms that most frequently are paired with “Muslim,” especially around times when the media focused on terrorist attacks.Soltas and Hyland said they are thrilled to have been chosen to continue their studies at such a high level and have the utmost respect for each other.“She’s a formidable scholar, and anyone who knows her has enormous respect for the depth and breadth of her intellect and how passionate she is,” Soltas said about Hyland.Hyland returned the praise. “Evan is the best. He should be in the news every day. He’s built for it and can handle anything,” she said. “I’m also excited to finally be able to have a drink with him and talk about life and our studies.”